In The Instant It Vanishes
by RemindsmeofaWestSideStory
Summary: AU. In the Marauder's 6th Year at Hogwarts, the females they choose to keep in their lives test their friendships, and they know their lives won't be the same again. SBXOC, JPXLE, RLXOC
1. Chapter 1

Title: In The Instant It Vanishes

Rating: T-M

Pairings: SiriusXOC, RemusXOC, JamesXLily

Description: AU. As the Marauder's 6th Year at Hogwarts begins, the females they choose to keep in their lives test their friendships. RLXOC, SBXOC, JPXLE

Disclaimer: These characters, aside from the 2 OCs belong solely J.K Rowling.

**A/N(s): ****Hello all! This is a co-op story between RemindsmeofaWestSideStory and ****Kanika Meskhenet. :3 Her OC is Eavan, and mine (As always xD) is Al. :]**

**XOXO**

Alexandra Landor, or "Al" sat solemnly in the Great Hall. She could see the group laughing at the end of the table, and it made her want to cry. She'd opened up to him, and he'd just ignored her feelings. Remus Lupin had been the object of her fancy for quiet a while, but he didn't seem to care how she felt, so she figured she may as well move on. As one of the Marauders cast a glance at her, she diverted her eyes, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to smile at her friend Severus who moved past her to his table. He nodded, without much of another word, and she looked back down at her food. She heard a call from the end of the table she'd been looking at,

**"Like what you see, Bird?"** Taunted James Potter. He sneered lightly at her, mostly in good fun, but she was in no mood to deal with idiots. Before she could shoot anything back, her friend Lily Evans stood over her, in defense.

**"Mind your self, James."** She snapped. He looked down, and the other Marauders laughed mildly, as did the female at one of their sides, Eavan. She was prettier then Al, and she actually stood a chance with Remus. Al was awkward, and more or less felt like a burden that no one needed. As Lily sat, she looked at her sadly,

**"Morning."** She said gently. Lily smiled, and looked at her untouched food.

**"Morning. Still not going to eat? It's been several days Al." **She chided. Al shrugged, and she moved some eggs around with her fork. Though she always felt down on herself, and kept her eyes downcast, she wasn't terrible looking. She took care of her pale skin, and it showed. She had pretty, russet eyes, though they were usually sad. Her hair was pinned back half way, neatly with a clip in the middle, and her curls cascaded down from there. She was short, and kept her back slouched most of the time, giving her a rather diffident looking disposition. She glanced back down the table once more, and she shrugged, remembering Lily had said something to her.

**"Oh well..." **She said distantly, and glanced the other way, out on of the large windows.

The Heads of each House began to walk along their own respective house's table, passing out timetables to each student of their House. Eavan Tringham was handed her schedule and let out a loud groan after scanning it over, one that didn't go unnoticed by the taunt-lipped Professor McGonagall who sent the blonde a reproachful stare.

It was the boy sitting across from Eavan, who voiced her discontent towards the class arrangements,

**"Double potions with Slytherin this early in the morning? Minnie, love, surely you could have a talk with Professor Slughorn and perhaps---"** The older woman rolled her narrow eyes at the shaggy haired, silver eyed boy, irritated by the nickname he had taken to calling her since his 1st year.

**"I am sorry Mister Black if you have a problem with your schedule but it cannot be changed, I would suggest you take a deep breath and just get through your class with the least amount of trouble as possible."** She sent him and his friends a withering look, the small group consisted of Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew and they were well known throughout the school as the Marauders, heartthrobs of Hogwarts and mischief-makers extraordinaire.

Sirius shot the older woman a charming grin,

**"Minnie, Minnie, Minnie in all the years that you've known us you should know by now that the phrase 'least amount of trouble' just doesn't go well with us."** She sighed, turning on her heel and stalking off down the table to resume handing out timetables to students, the Marauders were the same as ever, always looking for the next big prank.

**"Don't worry Ave, you'll have dear ol' Moony there to help you in Potions class if that's what you're worried about."** James Potter smirked in the sandy blonde haired boy's direction, tussling his already messy black hair. Her emerald hued eyes met his cocky dark stare and she waved it off, sending him a confident grin of her own to hide the uneasiness pulling at her insides. Potions was Eavan's worst class, last year she had barely been able to scrape up a passing grade and with it being their 6th year the classes were getting harder and there was more information for her to remember. Why was potions a requirement anyway? She certainly wasn't going to be going around making Amortentia or the Drought of the Living Dead after school, so why bother learning about it?

She felt a reassuring arm wrap around her waist and she was brought out of her reverie by the soft chuckle of the boy beside her, and in her opinion the most handsome, sweetest boy in the world; Remus Lupin. She and Remus had always been friends but when her feelings towards him started to change she knew she had to be the one to act on them, as, like any other shy boy, he was completely oblivious to the advances of the opposite sex. Eavan felt her lips tugging at the corners when she remembered that she had to push him against a wall and bluntly admit to fancying him and that she wanted to be more than friends. Poor Remus had been the brightest shade of red she had ever seen, and it was so cute!

**"You should eat a little more, we have 2 hours in that dungeon with the Slytherins and you won't be focused if your stomach's growling."** Remus was such a good guy.

"**So, Eavan was it?"** Sirius started, exchanging a smirk with his bestmate James,

**"Have you and ol' Moony shagged yet? Tell me, was he an animal in bed?"** James broke into a fit of laughter while the silver eyed boy kept a serious face (no pun intended), gauging her for a reaction. Remus coughed awkwardly, sending his two best friends a harsh glare.

Eavan ran a hand through her dirty blonde hair, an amused smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she blew at her raven colored bangs out of her eyes.

**"Sorry, mate, I don't shag and tell,"** She teased and Sirius let out a bark of laughter at the bright shade of pink that Remus was turning.

**"I..er...think we should head down to the Dungeons...don't...um...want to be late..."** Remus sputtered, shouldering Eavan's messenger bag and shifting his books to his right arm so that he could take her hand in his left. The emerald eyed girl nodded, waving briefly to the two boys who resumed stuffing their faces (they'd catch up later), and intertwined her fingers with her boyfriend, ambling off towards the dark and dingy Dungeons of Hogwarts.

Al could say at least she was excited for potions. She didn't much care for Slughorn, always thought him more of a buffoon then anything else. He was older then dirt, and picked favorites. She wasn't one of them, so she didn't like him. She was good at potions, but she didn't let on to that. She sat in class, and she didn't listen at Slughorn talked, she let her mind wander slightly...

_Al sat with her back to a tree, overlooking the lake on the outer part of Hogwarts. The sun was setting, and she didn't know what to do with herself. All of her two friends were out together, and she was left alone. With Severus being in love with Lily, she was often the third wheel and left alone. She didn't' blame them, if she were into someone she associated with, she'd want to be alone with them too. She sighed, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and her eyes bugged,_

_**"Remus?"**__ Her voice cracked. He smiled at her, his cerulean eyes dancing lightly. She could feel her heart speed up as he leaned towards her. His lips took hers, and she could feel her back go ridged. His lips were soft, and she could only blink. This wasn't real, was it? _

She jolted upright, and she kicked the table in front of her. Severus looked at her with a perplexed look. She looked a bit befuddled, and he raised an eyebrow, but not before Professor Slughorn beat him to the chase.

**"Nice of you to join us, Al. Can you tell me what we need to add to make this correct?"** He said, motioning towards a healing potion.

**"Well, it smells too good to be a healing potion. Needs more of something, Murtlap Essence perhaps."** She spoke nonchalantly. She got glances as he messed around on the table, and was shocked she got something right. She never spoke much. He figured it was a lucky guess. He droned on for a bit more, and he then assigned a potion to pairs. She paired up with Severus; because Lily wasn't in this class.

**"You alright?"** He asked, from behind long, greasy hair. She nodded mildly,

**"Nothing I can't get over with time."** She said sadly. It pained him to see a friend in pain, but she didn't want to talk about it, so he wouldn't ask. He could guess who it related to though.

**"He isn't worth it, you know."** He added, before he could stop himself. She smiled lightly,

**"Yes he is."** She finished. She looked into her caldron, and she winced as a loud laugh came from across the table. Sirius was messing with something, she couldn't see what. James was amused as well, and the girl laughed, and Remus smiled lightly. He was less of a kidder then the others, and she didn't like seeing the couple together and happy, it made her jealous. She turned back towards Severus, and she froze as James spoke in their direction. Any day but today...

**"Hey, Snivelly, seems you must be repulsing your poor partner. Maybe it's the grease."** He sneered. She bit the inside of her mouth, and turned back to her caldron. She kept her eyes trained on the nasty liquid, and she managed to slice her finger a few times cutting materials up. She sighed, and once it was complete. She gathered some in a vile, and by this time, Severus realized it wasn't what they were meant to be making.

**"What is that?"** He asked, unsure if he wanted to know. She looked at him blankly, and she tossed some onto his jacket. It caught fire instantly, and he started to panic when he realized it wasn't burning.

**"How'd you do this?"** He asked, running his fingers through it.

**"Practice."** She said simply. She then turned and walked towards James Potter. She opened the vile as he turned towards her, and she dumped all the contents over his back. His black robe erupted into flames, and he screamed. She laughed mildly, and he yanked his jacket off, and the fire spread to his hair. Everyone looked horrified, as she turned away, she spoke,

**"Maybe it's the grease."** She returned. Sirius opened his mouth to speak, when she looked back at him, with a mildly amused expression,

**"Shake it off Potter."** She cooed. He looked at her, and shook his coat, extinguishing the fire. Nothing was charred, and she didn't cause any damage to him either. It had merely been an illusion.

**"Surprise?"** She said mildly, getting a shocked giggle from noneotherthan Remus Lupin, getting a blush to spread over her face as she scurried back to her seat.

Eavan bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at James' situation, but wasn't very successful and instead let out a loud amused giggle, earning a glare from the messy haired bespectacled boy. She had to admit that the trick had been rather clever, and even if she didn't like Snape all that much either she admitted that James shouldn't have tried to instigate a fight by taunting the boy. She tilted her head to the side and smiled warmly at the girl that she recognized as Alexandra and called over the isle to her,

**"Hey, that was a pretty cool trick! Maybe you could teach it to me sometime?"** The brunette stiffened in her seat next to the greasy haired teen and shot the blonde and raven haired 16 year old a scathing glare,

**"Figure it out yourself."** Taken aback by the spiteful remark Eavan shrunk into Remus, squeezing his hand. He shot her a concerned look and placed a soft kiss on her cheek,

**"I'm sure she didn't mean it that way."** Sirius snorted, leaning back in his chair so that only the back two legs were on the ground, his arms crossed over his chest,

**"I say she's gone mental, but I've got to admit, it was a neat trick."** Eavan and Remus glanced over their shoulders at the silver-eyed boy who adopted an arrogant look,

**"I could do better, I bet."** The sandy blonde haired teen rolled his tired blue eyes,

**"You're not smart enough to figure out a potion like that, now I suggest you and James get to work and finish your potion before you get an incomplete."** James waved off the comment dismissively, mimicking Sirius' air of nonchalance,

**"We'll get it done when we're good an' ready, mate."** Remus sighed, turning around in his seat and shaking his head at the two boys behind him before turning to Eavan and offering her an affectionate smile.

**"Did I do this right, Rem?"** She furrowed her brows in uncertainty, staring down at the cauldron that was beginning to fizz.

He chuckled nervously, wrapping a protective arm around her waist and pulling her to her feet,

**"I think it'd be a good idea if we took a few steps back, Ave."** and they did just that as the potion in their cauldron began to fizz and sizzle more violently before erupting into a splash of purple goop, spraying everyone in the room.

Silence enveloped the class as everyone simply stared down at their own purple gooey bodies with a disdainful look before shooting daggers in Eavan and Remus' direction. Professor Slughorn's face had turned a shade of purple that Eavan had never seen before, and it wasn't from the goop that was dripping down his face either. The silence dragged on for a few more moments before it was broken by Sirius and James' sharp barks of laughter.

**"Bloody hell! You really weren't kidding, Ave! You really **_**are **_**terrible at potions!"** James snorted, clutching at his sides and falling out of his chair and onto the sticky floor.

Eavan bit her lip and rubbed at the back of her neck sheepishly, offering the class an apologetic smile only to receive amused looks from one half and annoyed grimaces from the other. Remus bent down and whispered in her ear reassuringly,

**"Don't worry, happens to the best of us, love."**

As the day wore on, Al tried to keep to herself. Severus didn't ever speak much, so she didn't have to try very hard. She ended up having a free block, and she went to the library, she enjoyed watching the floating books. As much as she meant to keep up a distant and abrasive facade all the time, she didn't do it so well when she was alone. She didn't really want to like she was, but she couldn't help it most of the time. It was easier to be rude then to act nice when one was hurt. Lily understood her pain, so she gave her her space most of the time. Severus didn't mean to be a bother sometimes, but others he said nothing; so he was never truly a pain either.

She slid down against a bookshelf, and she brought her legs back towards her face. She rested her head on her knee, and her eyes welled with tears. She hated this feeling. Dejected, and self-loathing. Maybe if she had just been a little more forward, she wouldn't have to hate that girl. She hadn't ever done anything wrong by Al, and she didn't deserve it, but she wasn't a good enough person to be able to overlook the fact she was with the man Al wanted. She blinked back the tears that threatened her eyes. She brushed them away on her sleeve, her head jerk making her curls bounce behind her head. She ran her fingers into her hair idly, and she kept her head low.

_**"Pathetic."**_ Her mother's voice rang in her ears. She had always wanted to prove her wrong, find a good man, and marry them someday, and have children. Prove to herself and her family she was a better mother then hers had pretended to be. Before she could wipe the next tear that fell from her eye away, she heard someone come close to her, and she didn't look up.

**"You alright?"** A female voice asked. She looked up to see Eavan standing before her. _Perfect..._ She said in her head, she nodded, and she slowly pushed herself up. She looked past Eavan, and she started to walk past her, and as she did, she looked sadly at her own shoes, and she tossed back over her shoulder at the other,

**"I'm sorry for being a git."** Al spoke barely above a whisper. She moved past the girl, and she didn't look back to see the others response. She moved into the hallway, and plowed right into a soft body. She felt herself start to slip, when they grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her feet. She got her footing slowly and looked up to see she'd hit Remus Lupin. Her cheeks reddened, and she looked at her feet,

**"Sorry about that. If you're looking for Eavan, she's in there."** She motioned towards the library.

**"Excuse me."** She said, keeping her head low, moving off down the hall.

**"Thanks.."** He muttered, watching her go. _Strange girl_, he mused to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

All had been well the past few weeks. the Gryffindor dorm had started to calm down, less gossip and bickering. And one may have dared to say, Eav, Lily and Al were all becoming friends. The girls were seen eating together with the Marauders; and in classes, they would work and sit together if given the chance. Lily figured it was time that Al moved past Remus, so she found a date for her friend, though Al was somewhat relutant to accept a blind date.

**"It will be fun."** Lily assured, following her friend back towards the dorms. Al shook her russet curls, pulling her books closer to her chest.

**"Why are you making me do this?!"** She whined. Al wasn't one to like spending time with people she didn't know, or fancy in anyway.

**"I won't like him."** Al said indignantly.

**"You won't know that until you meet him!"** Lily countered. Al eventually considered her options, which were small because Lily would nag her until she said yes. One date wouldn't hurt, she guessed. The unamused Al eventually consented and gave in. Lily was thrilled, and Al didn't want to know what she had just gotten herself into. As she entered the dorm from her shower, Lily and Eav attacked her, fixing her hair differently then she always did; doing her make up in a more noticeable fashion. They combined cloths of their own to make her look less conservative. Al would admit she had fun playing "dress up" with her friends, but when they were done and that meant she actually had to go, she didn't want to.

**"I don't want to go!"** She squealed, mildly panicked. They rolled their eyes, and pulled her towards the common room. She had been set up with a Gryffindor 7th year; a tall, handsome dark haired boy named Dexter, but he went by Dee. He was smart, and funny, but she didn't want to go! She was nearly kicking and screaming as they got her down the stairs, and pushed her through the doorway. The only people in the common room at present were Sirius and James, whom she startled as she was shoved through the entrance. She stood awkwardly before them as Lily and Eav stepped into the light. Sirius grinned,

**"I can't believe you actually got her to do it."** He said, looking her over, and his gaze made Al uncomfortable. She liked Sirius, but his reputation for being a play boy wasn't her taste.

**"Honestly Al, I didn't know all of that was under your uniform."** James mused, pointing to her figure. She narrowed her eyes, and she started to retort Sirius spoke too, with a smirk,

"**Yeah, who knew she actually had a nice chest?"** As Sirius finished speaking, Remus came down and past them on his way out the door.

**"Who has a nice chest?"** He inquired, not noticing the girls right away. Al started to blush as Sirius pointed in her direction. Remus turned in the direction he pointed, and he looked a little taken a back as he pointed at Al.

"**You look nice."** He said with a smile. Al felt her face flush ten times brighter, and Sirius wasn't helping the in the slightest,

"**Nice rack too, hmm?"** He questioned. Remus blushed mildly, and he nodded shakily. Al's face grew even hotter, and she swiftly darted from the room. Lily sighed exasperatedly, and snapped at the males in the room.

"**Damnit Remus!"** She shouted mildly, as she turned to look after Al, who was long down the hall by now. He seemed stunned, and he grumbled under his breath as he left,

"**Fine, see if I compliment a girl ever again."** He was then gone.

Eavan watched as Al darted from the common room and narrowed her eyes at Sirius who was staring at the retreating girl with an arched eyebrow, clearly finding some form of amusement in Al's discomfort. James sighed and mentioned something about it only being a joke and that Al needed to chill out which started a whole argument between him and Lily. Eavan wasn't paying attention to them, instead she found her eyes wandering to the silver storm clouds that were Sirius Black's deep eyes.

**"Hey Sirius, since Remus isn't here to keep me company---No that's not what I meant so shut your trap!"** She groaned before he could retort,

"**What I was trying to say is, do you think you could help me with my Potions work tonight?"** He became a little uneasy and inconspicuously glanced out the window to gauge how dark it was before letting a small frown tug at the corners of his lips. If he helped her tonight he could run the chance of missing out on helping Moony with his change in the full moon, but if he didn't help her would she be mad? Would that ruin any possible chance in the future that he might have with her? Sirius didn't know, normally he didn't think too hard over a girl, they were just forms of entertainment, sexual release if you will, but Eavan...she was different. He wanted her to be happy, to be happy with him, and it hurt to know that she was with one of his best mates.

Sirius Black was many things, but a backstabber he was not.

**"I'm sorry, Ave, but I've got plans for tonight..." **She bit her lip momentarily before plastering on a smile that he could tell was fake even if no one else could,

**"That's totally fine, I'll just...go study or...something. I'll see you guys later."** It hurt him to watch her leave the common room looking so dejected like she had, he wanted to spend time with her he really did, but Remus never asked for much and the Full Moon only came once a month, Sirius had to be there for him.

**"You're such an insensitive toerag, you---now where's she going?"** Lily broke eye-contact with James and turned just in time to see another one of her friends leave the common room.

**"To study."** The shaggy haired, silver-eyed boy sighed.

James gave him an incredulous look,

**"But it's getting late, what if she doesn't get back before curfew?"** Lily shrugged,

**"She's a big girl, normally I'd be worrying about her too but currently all my concern is focused on the friend that your friend sent running out of the common room!"** Sirius shrunk back a little, noticing her anger filled eyes,

**"And besides, she always sneaks out every Thursday night, I don't know what she does or where she goes...but she's never been caught."**

**"...And you were never curious enough to ask what she was up to?"** Sirius rose an eyebrow. The beautiful red-head rolled her eyes,

**"Of course I did, but she'd never give me a straight answer or she'd say something cryptic like, **_**'it's a secret, love**_**'."** She tried to mimic Eavan's voice but failed miserably at her attempt, causing both boys to snicker. James jumped when he heard the chime of the mantle clock and quickly reminded Sirius that they needed to get going, but the silver eyed boy hung back.

**"I'll catch up in a bit, mate, I just need to check something out first."** The bespectacled boy gave his best friend a funny look before sighing,

**"Alright, but don't be too long."** The short, pudgy boy, Peter, following closely at his heels like a lost puppy.

**"You're not going to find Eavan, are you?"** Lily cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest,

**"You know, if she doesn't want anyone knowing where she goes I think you should honor her wishes and just mind yourself."** Sirius chuckled,

**"I'm only looking out for the best interest of my mate, Remus, I'm making sure that she's not up to no good, if you catch my drift, love."** He took a detour to the boys' dorm room, sifting through his trunk for that magical little piece of parchment that had saved the Marauders skins too many times to count. His eyes roamed over the messy contents in the dark and he frowned,

**"Maybe I should follow Moony's advice and tidy up a bit sometime..."** his fingers groped in the dark for the enchanted parchment before finding what he was looking for and letting out a triumphant 'Ha!'

**"**_**I solemnly swear that I am up to no good**_**."**

--------------------------------------

Eavan sat at one of the tables in the Kitchens, idly twirling her spoon around in her bowl of ice cream, mixing the fudge, whipped cream, and sprinkles with the vanilla ice cream into one big milkshake. The elbow of her free arm was propped up on the table where she rested her chin in the palm.  
**  
"Alright I'm sick of watching you abuse that poor Sundae, now either tell us what's wrong...or give the ice cream to me."** A petite Ravenclaw with wavy brunette hair that came down to her mid-back in choppy layers spoke up from across the table, her bright blue eyes never leaving the bowl of soupy ice cream that sat in front of the blonde Gryffindor.

From beside Eavan sat a boy with features almost identical to her's, with the exception of his light gray eyes and his height. He was fairly taller than she was and had shaggy blonde hair that came to rest just an inch above his shoulders at the nape of his neck and had that natural wind-swept quality to it.

**"Lyna you cow, is food all you ever think about?"** The brunette glared indignantly at the blonde Ravenclaw,

**"No! I also think about...Eavan stop just...just give it to me!"** the blue eyed girl snatched the bowl away from her friend and began to salvage what she could of the frozen treat, before glancing up to meet the cocky smirk of the boy beside Eavan.

**"Okay fine Elliot, I like to eat, whatever."** Elliot watched Helyna stuff her face with her second ice cream sundae of the night for a moment before turning his attention to his cousin who was banging her head against the table. He latched onto her shoulders and pulled her away from the wooden surface before her forehead could make contact again and spun her around so that she was facing him.

**"Ave what's gotten into you?"** His eyes searched her's for some sort of sign as to why she was acting that way but couldn't find anything.

**"I...I'm just so..confused guys, I don't know what to do anymore..."**

**"How fo?"** Lyna sputtered through a mouthful of sundae soup.

Elliot eyes her for a moment,

**"It's amazing that you stay so tiny..."** then turned back to his cousin,

**"Confused about what, Ave?"**  
**  
"About my rela---"**

The secret door to the kitchens opened and in waltzed none other than Sirius Black who quickly pocketed a strange piece of parchment before strutting over towards her and her friends casually.

**"Hey Ave, there you are!"** His eyes landed on Elliot and trailed along the length of the boy's arms to where they rested on Eavan's shoulders, he didn't know who either of the two people she was sitting with were, but Sirius didn't much like the closeness to Eavan that the blonde boy was exhibiting.

She tiredly glanced up and locked eyes with the boy that had been plaguing her thoughts a little more than he should have and allowed a small smile to tug at the corners of her lips.

**"Hey, Sirius, what're you doing here? I thought you had plans tonight..."** Elliot stared back and forth between the two before a sense of understanding washed over him and he sighed in exasperation, releasing her shoulders and sitting back. The silver eyed boy shrugged,

**"I do, but I was worried about you when you left the common room so I wanted to make sure you were alright.... obviously you are so...I'm just gonna go. We still having a Potions session tomorrow night?"** Eavan bit her lip, shooting her cousin a glare to counter his smug smirk before replying,

**"Yeah, I'll meet you in the common room."**

**"Alright, well, enjoy your night, Ave."** Sirius offered her a small smile before turning around to leave.

**"Thanks, Sirius."**

He glanced over his shoulder, tilting his head in confusion,

**"For what, love?"**

**"For caring."**

He was caught off guard by the comment and instead just turned around and left the Kitchens without another word said, he didn't understand the feelings that Eavan was making him feel but it made him feel a sense of...complete. He needed her, but she was strictly off limits, he was his best mate's girl and he couldn't hurt Remus, she was the first girl he had ever dated at Hogwarts and Sirius refused to destroy that. For now Sirius would sit on the sidelines and watch the girl that he'd fallen for find warmth in his best mate's arms. It destroyed him to think about it, he realized, but there was nothing he could do...


	3. Chapter 3

Eavan groaned, running a hand through her shoulder length blonde hair, chewing thoughtfully on the black tip of the strand that had gotten caught in her mouth when she'd opened it to voice her discomfort. Currently she was holed away at the very back of the Library so that she wouldn't be bothered while she attempted to study for Potions class and even with limited distractions she still had a hard time keeping her mind focused on the words of page 3 of_ Basic Potions for Dummies_.

**"Okay...so you stir counter-clockwise 12 times and...Oh, shit, which way is counter-clockwise again? Arg! This is impossible!"** She scrunched up her nose and rested her cheek in the palm of her hand, staring down at the book with tired eyes. She'd been at this for nearly an hour now, it should've been easy, it was like cooking wasn't it? Maybe that's what her problem was; she couldn't cook to save her life and in turn couldn't brew a decent non-exploding potion to get her a passing grade.

She heard the chair beside her slide away from the table before she heard the weight of a body plopping down into it, _Great, I swear if it's Elliot again I'm going to chop off his balls, he knows not to bother me while I'm trying to study_! Elliot was her cousin who found amusement in her inability to produce an acceptable potion and often would pretend to help her with the homework while feeding her the wrong answers.

Emerald eyes met a sea of silver and she momentarily felt her breath hitch in her chest, Sirius Black sent her a cocky grin before peering over her arm at the opened potions book in front of her.

**"Studying a little early, love?"** She nodded,

**"Yeah, so if you're here to distract me then you might just wake up missing your left nut."** Sirius let out a loud bark of laughter, his eyes lighting up mischievously,

"**I have no idea what you're going on about, I just came here to offer my assistance. I did get an O on my Potions exam last year and am doing quite well in the course, if I do say so myself."** Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, she had never really spoken to Sirius until she and Remus had started dating, but from what she could tell of him he wasn't exactly the type to go around tutoring unfortunate students.

"**.... What's in it for you?"** He gasped, holding his hand over his heart in feigned hurt,

**"I cannot believe you would assume that I was after something other than your understanding of Potions class! That hurts Eavan, that hurts right here."** He rubbed over where his heart was as if it were sore. The blonde haired Gryffindor laughed,

"**Alright sure, sure, I'll take you up on your offer."**

**"Great! Now let's go find a more suitable place to study, yes?"** He flipped his shaggy dark hair to the side and held out his arm to her, which she hesitantly accepted.

**"...More suitable for studying than the library...?"** Eavan gave him a skeptical look and he laughed.

**"Well we can't very well set up a cauldron in here, now can we?"**

**"...I guess not."** She still wasn't all too sure about trusting Sirius as her tutor, but since Remus wasn't feeling too well she didn't want to bother him with it.

Sirius led her up to the 2nd floor and dragged her through a maze of hallways before stopping in front of a blank wall; he paced back and forth in front of it for a minute or two before a door appeared. She immediately recognized it was the Room of Requirement, she'd never personally been there but her friends had told her stories about how they'd sneak off with their significant others and...Well, you get the idea. Eavan felt her heartbeat quicken in her chest and hoped that Sirius couldn't hear the erratic pounding against her ribcage.

**"Alright, our makeshift Potions lab, I suppose we should start with something simple seeing as how you're not too...apt for potion making and all."** He cast her an amused smirk. She rolled her eyes,

"**Yeah thanks."  
**  
**"I think we should start with a simple Confusing and Befuddlement Draught," **He said after a moment of thought, sneaking a glance at Eavan from the corner of his eyes,

**"All you need is a bit of sneezewort, a pinch of scurvy grass, and a dash of lovage."** She nodded and went to the cupboard to find the specified ingredients, only to come back empty handed and looking rather confused,

**"Er...exactly **_**how **_**much is a pinch and a dash..?"**

He chuckled, guiding her to the cabinet once again and showing her precisely the amount of each ingredient needed for the draught. It was while he was busy showing her this that she found herself zoning out, focusing on how hard his abs were, no doubtedly from his position as Beater on the Quidditch team. _What the hell am I thinking?!_ She shook her head to clear away those unwanted thought and instead focused on brewing the draught to perfection. Well, somewhat close to perfection at least. She glanced down at the cauldron that she was currently stirring in a counter-clockwise motion and made a face, scrunching up her nose as the awful aroma overwhelmed her senses. Was it supposed to smell that terrible or was she not making it right?

**"Um, Sirius is it...why're you staring at me like that?"** Eavan bit her lip, when she had turned to ask him what was wrong with the Draught she'd found that he'd been staring straight at her, making her feel rather uncomfortable.

Unwavering in his stare he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, his lips tugged upwards into a charming grin,

**"You're too damn cute when you're trying to concentrate on your potion."**

**"Oh, I, Er, thank you...?"** She looked away from him, flustered by his comment. What the hell was he trying to do? She was with Remus, and happy with him too, Sirius shouldn't have been saying things like that too her, it could be taken the wrong way by someone that wasn't supposed to hear it.

Sirius frowned momentarily before replacing it with his trademark cocky smirk, peering over her shoulder at the mixture brewing in the cauldron. His body was closely pressed up against her back, Eavan swallowed the pooling of saliva in her mouth as an uncomfortable air spread between the two. He was too close for comfort and she wanted nothing more than for him to take a step or two away from her to lighten the mood. She was a good girlfriend and refused to give in to Sirius' temptation.

**"Lookin' good, love."** He remarked finally, winking at her,

**"See, with the proper teacher you're not half bad at this."**

XOXO

Sleep generally came easy to Al, but this morning seemed to be the exception. She tossed, and turned, and seemed close to waking up, but never did. She moaned in her sleep, and she twitched violently,

_She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight up. The boy Lily had set her up with had her pinned to the tree by her wrists._

_**"Shall we see what we look like without cloths?"**__ He cooed, moving to kiss her. She bit his lip, and he pulled away, slapping her across the face, leaving her lip cut open and bleeding. She was starting to get more and more scared, and she began to thrash more and more against his grip. He only smiled,_

_**"Might as well sit still, Pretty Girl. No one around here to hear you scream."**__ He cooed, leaning into her neck, laving it with sloppy kisses. She kicked out, nailing him in the genitals. He dropped her wrists, and doubled over slightly as she tried to run. He lashed out after her, and grabbed her ankle. She screamed loudly, and she could hear it echo in a high-pitched craze over the woods. He was right, no one was around to hear her scream. She started to cry, and he back handed her again._

_**"No running."**__ He whispered. He started to undo his belt, when they both froze as a branch crunched behind them. He turned to see something that seemed to scare him. He let her go, and he stumbled back,_

_**"Bloody hell!"**__ He cried, refastening his belt so he could bolt. She started to sit up, when she saw what looked like a very large dog. It had skinny arms and legs, and seemed to have a mixed expression. The boy ran off, and the dog bolted after him. The dog snarled, and ran past Al. She winced, and she heard the dog whine. She looked back to see another animal, a smaller black mutt snarling at the larger dog. It dawned on her then, was the bigger dog a werewolf?! She didn't dare move, until she was nudged from the back, she looked to see a large buck behind her. She seemed stunned; this was one of her stranger nights. The buck's antler hooked into her shirt, and pulled up, trying to get her to her feet, she assumed. She pulled herself up, and the Buck pushed her back towards Hogwarts. She ran, and the gave one last glance over at the fighting dogs to see the smaller one land a powerful scratch over the wolf's shoulder. She winced, and she ran. She'd never run so fast, and she got in closer view to Hogwarts. She ran past the Whomping Willow, and into the stony gates. As she got through the door, she ran towards the stairs and began to slow down. Her breathing became somewhat erratic, and she collapsed to the stony floor._

She jerked awake with a start. She looked around, and she didn't know where she was at first, but soon realized she was in the Hospital ward. She started to catch her breath, when someone's low moan came from her left. She turned to see noneotherthan Remus Lupin there, slowly straining to sit up. She threw her wobbly legs of the side of the bed, and helped him. He didn't seem to notice her help until he was already up. He looked up at her, and his tired cobalt eyes bore up at her, and she felt like she couldn't breath for a second. He smiled lightly, and winced as he moved too much to one side for his body's liking.

**"Thank you."** He mumbled. She nodded and looked him over; he looked awful. He was beaten up, and scratched. His cloths were in tatters, and he didn't seem strong enough to even sit up on his own. The last thing she noticed as she pored over him was a deep cut on his back, and her dream flashed back into her head. She felt her lip...it was cut. This hadn't been a dream, had it? She swallowed the lump of disbelief in her throat and spoke softly,

**"How long have you been like this?"** She asked. He looked up at her, question written on his face, until realization hit him, and he looked rather panicked.

**"I...I don't know what you mean, Al."** He said with false cheer. She smiled, and sat next to him on the bed. She could smell the aromas of outside on his skin, and the reminders of his cloths.

**"Then what happened last night?"** She asked, her voice shaking lightly. He looked at her, and he seemed to notice the cut on her lip. He sighed, and hung his head. He seemed to know something she didn't, and she wanted to know what it was.

**"I'm...sorry."** He said after a few moments. She looked at him, her brow furrowed.

**"What on earth for?"** She questioned. He looked back at her, his eyes filled with such sadness it made her heart hurt in her chest. He swallowed,

**"That, this. You having to know that I'm a freak."** He said, choking on his words slightly. She was taken aback. His self-esteem was no better then hers, and she placed a hand under his chin,

**"You are not a freak, Remus Lupin. So you are different, big deal. It happens. We all have skeletons in our closet. And, you don't have to be sorry to me, you have no reason to be."** She said with a gentle smile. He smiled back, and before another word could be spoken, James burst through the door, with Lily in tow. They came swiftly towards the beds, and Lily embraced her friend, nearly knocking her off the bed. Remus smiled lightly at James as they exchanged pleasantries. Lily pulls Al to her feet, and they move towards the door. Al needed a shower and cloths change before class. She looked back at the boys, and she smiled gently at Remus, and a rather worried looking James.

**"Feel better Remus, and chin up, Kay?"** She said with a grin. She winked, and she left with Lily. James looked back at him,

**"Does she know?!"** He exclaimed. Remus nodded, and he slowly stood.

**"What do we do?! A memory charm?! Threaten her!?"** James muttered off, Remus held up his hand, and silenced his friend,

**"She won't tell."** He said, walking past James. James stormed after him,

**"How do you know that?! She is a friend of Snivelly!"** He cried, Remus smiled lightly,

**"She won't tell, I trust her."** He said simply, ending the topic then. He moved towards the Gryffindor Tower, showered and made his way towards the Great Hall; where his eyes landed on Al he pasted her at the table, she smiled up at him, and waved as he past. He smiled back with a nod, and moved towards the rest of the Marauders as the end of the table.

------------

As it turned out, she didn't tell. Al started to warm up the Marauders a bit more, and started to spend most meals eating with them. A few days later, as dinner was starting to wind down, Remus glanced towards Al, and he saw something on her neck that made him a little angry.

"**How long have you had those bruises?"** He asked. Her eyes shot up, and she pulled her shirt collar up.

"**What bruises?"** She asked, dodging his question. He looked at her, and reached over, pulling her collar down. His long fingers traced some purple marks on her neck that resembled fingers.

"**Did he try to choke you the other night?"** He asked her. She looked at her plate and shoved a little food around. By this time, Sirius, James and the other females around them were looking.

"**What happened when you and him went out the other night, Al?"** Sirius inquired. Now that they all thought about it, none of them had heard about how the early part of the date went. James and Sirius knew vaguely what happened towards the end, but they didn't' know how she got into the woods that night. She didn't look up when she started to speak,

"**We went to eat, talked about stuff. Well, he talked, I didn't get really any words in, that boy likes his own voice…and after dinner, he was walking us back, and he took a detour through the woods. Started talking about monsters living in there, and he tried to say he'd protect me, and I just sorta nodded, what was I gonna say? But anyway, he just tried to get into my pants, and that didn't work out so well, and I kicked him. He just hit me once, and threw me on the ground. Something spooked him I guess, but I blacked out, so I don't remember anything else. It's not an issue, really. Thanks for asking though."** She confessed, barely taking her eyes off her plate. Everyone in the group seemed stunned.

"**All this happened and you didn't say anything?"** Lily asked her, exasperatedly. Al shrugged,

"**You all had your own stuff going on, my problems shouldn't be burdens for you guys."** She said with a sad smile.

"**He could have hurt you, you don't think that's a big deal to us?"** Eav asked, concerned. Al started to speak, when before anyone could even think, Remus was up from the table. He stormed down past a large group of kids, and pushed a 7th year in the back. He stumbled and turned around, the boy he'd pushed was noneotherthan Dee.

"**You gotta problem, Lupin?"** He asked with a furrowed brow.

"**Yeah, I do. Who do you think you are, beating a girl around?"** He asked, rather vehemently. Dee smirked,

"**If she'd just sat there, it wouldn't have been an issue. I figured as quiet as she was, she wouldn't have said anything to anyone anyhow."** His friends laughed, and that was all it took for Remus to snap. Before he could think, he balled up his fist, and nailed the boy straight in the jaw. The boy's friends then shoved him, and that was all it took for James and Sirius to hop the table, and start a 3-way fight right in the middle of the Great Hall. The females cleared the table, and rushed towards the group.

"**Stop it, James please!"** Lily cried, pulling on James's arm, getting him away from one of the older boys who came at them again, to be stopped by Lily with her wand drawn. He stopped short, and backed up a few steps.

"**Damn it Sirius, get off of him!"** Eav howled, grabbing the back of his rob. He'd gotten the smaller boy to the floor, and was hitting him in the jaw mercilessly. He stopped and dropped the boy's jacket. He backed up towards James, and the others, and all eyes stopped as Al stepped between Remus and Dee.

"**Take your whore Lupin, I don't want to look at her pathetic face anymore."** He said with a sneer. Before Remus could react, Dee doubled over from a swift kick in the crotch by Al.

"**I am not a whore, and I will not tolerate you harassing my friends, and if you come near me again, I will kick your ass, do you hear me!?"** She nearly growled. She then turned on her heel, and made her way swiftly out of the Great Hall, followed by the other Gryffindors who had been involved, and a roar of applause in their wake.

After much explaining, mild lecturing, and detentions assigned by Professor McGonagall and a bit of a cool down period, all parties that had been involved in some way were sitting in the nearly empty common room, until most went to bed, save for Al and Remus. Al glanced at Remus,

"**You didn't have to do that, you know." **She said with a smile. He looked back at her, with a slightly busted lip.

"**Yeah I did, I can't have people messing with my friends. And besides, what he did wasn't right. You don't deserve to be treated like that."** He admitted, smiling back. She blushed at his smiled,

"**Well, thanks then, I guess."** She said, looking up at him, her eyes shining happily. He felt himself blush lightly,

"**Think nothing of it, Al."** He said, as they both stood and made their ways up to the dorms for the night. As they reached their parting point, Al looked at him,

"**Goodnight Remus."** She said, smiling at him again. He smiled back, and touched the small of her back as he passed her,

"**Goodnight Al."** As he walked away, he glanced back at her, as she moved into her room, he couldn't help but want to go back to her, but he felt guilty at any such thought, and didn't know why he would have thought something like that, he was happy with the relationship he was in, and he wouldn't second guess that.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Obviously we do not own the song "It's Raining Men"; it belongs to the Weather Girls :3

XOXO

After a few weeks without incident, the first big Quidditch match of the year came up, and it was Gryffindor Verses Slytherin. As James and Sirius had made their ways to the field earlier in the morning, the group's females rushed around their dorm, getting themselves dressed and ready to support the team. They all had painted their nails yellow and red, and they wore their scarves. Al had on dark washed jeans with red converses. She had dyed the laces yellow, and she wore a gray shirt. She pulled her hair back in its normal fashion, and she moved down towards the common room to wait. As she got down there, she was greeted by Remus and Peter.

**"Morning."** They said cheerily to her. She smiled, and spoke in return,

**"Good morning."** She had come out of her shell more and more the past few weeks. She found she and Remus had a good bit in common; more then she'd originally thought. Both from Middle class families, both only children; both rather intelligent. She had started spending a good deal of time with him as well, much to her delight. She took her seat on a chair, and conversation continued until the others emerged from the stairs, and they all headed towards the stadium.

Eavan had been the first of the group of girls to shower and get herself dressed but had opted to stay behind and help Lily pick out her outfit while Al had gone on ahead to the Common Room. The blonde and raven haired Gryffindor herself was wearing a pair of form-fitting jeans with holes in the knee (her favorite pair), a burgundy red t-shirt covered by her cousin Elliot's thick black hoodie, her Gryffindor scarf wrapped loosely around her neck, and lastly her black converse with frayed patches stitched to the side.

Once Lily had finally decided on her outfit for the game the two finally left the girls dorm and ventured downstairs to meet with Al and Remus and Peter before making their way out to the stadium.

"**So…please tell me I'm not the only one who doesn't understand this game…"** Lily almost begged, glancing between her friends.

Eavan shrugged, "**I don't know too much about it and its rules, but I know enough to understand when we get a point or something good happens."**

Al smiled as Lily spoke, she shrugged,

**"I know my father played it when he was here, so I'm supposed to like it because he said so. I know also that if James catches the little gold thing, I think it's gold, we get more points. That's about the extent of my knowledge."** Al offered back. They made their way out of the Castle and into the Pitch. They pushed towards the front, and they could see the entire field. Remus stood behind them, and Peter to his side. Al felt something brush her butt, and she looked warily behind her, to see it had been Peter, and he was just starring at her lower region. She shifted closer to the females, and leaned over lightly,

**"Can someone tell me who that boy that follows us around is?"** She thought about it, and he was always around! He never said anything, he was just slightly odd. Eavan started to speak, when she scooted forward with a squeak.

**"He touched me!"** She whispered harshly. They didn't want to say anything to him, and no one answered Al's question because the game was starting. As the teams Ascended in the air, Sirius took his spot, and looked into the crowd. He loved his vantage point from up here, he could see _everything._ He saw the Quaffle and the Snitch released, and he got himself on the ready.

About 30 minutes into the match, Gryffindor was up by 10, and the Slytherins were not happy about it. The Chasers again scored, and the Gryffindor fans went wild. They jumped up and down and screamed, and as they were cheering, Sirius caught sight of a certain dirty blonde bouncing happily in the crowd. He smiled, and he tried not to let his eyes wander, but of course, as he looked down at her, she stopped for a second to remove the hoodie she was wearing. He growled in the back of his throat, and he felt himself shift on his broom. He tried to look away, but he couldn't, until he saw something flying towards him. He knocked the black ball away, and he heard the cheers from the crowd resume when the team scored again. He smiled, and he looked back at the crowd in time to see Eavan bouncing up and down happily, and he swallowed, and smiled pervertedly.

**"Black, heads up!"** Screamed a loud male voice from the crowd. He looked back swiftly, but not fast enough. The Bludger caught him square in the face, knocking him most of the way off his broom. He dangled by one hand on the broom, and he swallowed harshly. Damn his perverted tendencies!

There was a medley of cheers and gasps as Sirius Black was struck with the Bludger, causing him to lose balance on his broom and fall off of it. Everyone on the Gryffindor side of the pitch stood from their seats, holding their breath and hoping that he'd be able to get back onto his broomstick before his one-handed grip failed him.

Sirius was left dangling in the air, one hand latched tightly onto his broom that was slowly starting to descend while his other hand desperately tried to grasp onto the wooden shaft for my stability. He would vaguely hear the chanting of, "_**Knock him off! Knock him off**_**!"** from the Slytherin side of the stadium through the ringing in his ears.

Eavan bit her lip so hard that the tender skin broke open and she could taste the crimson copper-flavored liquid on her tongue, but she didn't even notice it, she was more focused on Sirius and even though she had no belief in any higher being, she began to pray that he'd be okay.

One of the chasers for Slytherin whizzed by Sirius, so close that the other boy's cloak blew right against the silver-eyed boys face, which by now was throbbing in tremendous pain. Sirius closed one eye when the blood from his head wound began to seep into it, causing his vision to blur, but he was determined to win the game and beat those Slytherin bastards so he sucked in a deep breath and pulled himself up onto his broom, right as another chaser came zooming by, smacking right into the side of his broom and in turn, causing Sirius to spin out of control for a few moments.

The Gryffindor side was so silent anyone could have heard a pin drop. Everyone watched Sirius nervously. Until someone screamed from behind them,

**"Get up, Black!"** The voice was male. They turned to see it was a 4th year they didn't know well enough to call a friend. Al noticed others start to do the same, and she leaned towards the rail and yelled herself,

**"Come on, Sirius!"** She cried so loud her voice cracked. Next Lily started to cheer, followed by Eavan and Remus. The entire side began to cheer uproariously until he was back on the broom. He raised his arms above his head, and the group went even wilder. He rolled the wooden object around in his hand, and he flicked his hair back. The Bludger came back towards him, and he reeled back and slapped it away viciously. Before anyone knew what was happening, Gryffindor had caught the Snitch, and the game was over. The group made their way towards the team, and Lily stopped in her tracks.

**"Lily?"** Al asked. She turned and ran off towards the dorms. The others turned to see James being pawed by many girls. Eavan and Al walked up and to him, yelled very profane expressions at him, and ran off after Lily. On their way up, they stopped in front of the castle.

**"I have an idea of a way to cheer up Lily."** Eavan said. Al glanced at her with a smile,

**"Yeah?" **She questioned. Eavan smiled, and she looked up at the sky,

**"Looks like rain."** She said. making her way into the castle. Al looked up too, and then looked after Eavan.

**"Raining? Unless you mean men, which would be a rather rude stab at Sirius...Oh..I like the way you think, Eavan. Very much so."** Al said smiling as wickedly as Eavan had previously.

Al and Eavan linked arms and marched themselves back up to Gryffindor Tower to pick out what they were going to wear to the big celebration party in the Room of Requirement later that night. When they got back to their dorm they found Lily stomping around the room in circles, huffing raggedly in anger. The two girls exchanged knowing looks and grinned.

"**So, what's this all about, hm**?" Eavan cocked an eyebrow and Lily immediately stopped her pacing and whirled around to face the two girls.

The gorgeous red-head crossed her arms over her chest, "**I don't know what you're talking about."**

Al giggled, "**I think you know **_**exactly **_**what we're referring to, you like James! And not just like him, you **_**like **_**like him!"**

Lily looked highly affronted and opened her mouth to retort but closed it, finding nothing to say, and then opened it once again and closing it, making her resemble that of a gasping fish. Needless to say, Eavan and Al were amused by their friend's undeniable crush on James; it was obvious to them and everyone else, aside from James himself who was as oblivious as ever.

"**You guys are crazy, why would I like that arrogant, self-centered, toerag?!"** She shrilled.

Eavan smirked and spoke in a singsongy voice, "**Looks like **_**someone's**_** a little jealous**!"

Lily scoffed and attempted to act like she had no idea what the blonde was talking about, but her face gave away the way she truly felt, "**J-jealous? Why would I be jealous of Potter?"**

"**Because of all those slags hanging around him after the match, and you marched off all red-faced…" **Al spoke thoughtfully.

**"I quite agree."** Nodded Eavan. Lily flopped to her bed, exasperated. She shook her head dejectedly.

**"What did I do to deserve this?"** She said miserably.

**"You just have to show him you like him!"** Eavan assured her. Lily shook her head,

**"But, why do I like him!? He's...He's..James Potter!"** She cried. Al smiled,

**"What's not to like? He's charming, sometimes, funny, handsome. Nothing wrong with any of that, oh, and he's crazy about you. Nothing else to shake a finger at, believe me."** She said with a nod. Eavan agreed, and eventually they were able to drag towards the Room of Requirement. They entered the room, and smiled at each other. They sat Lily down, and at the corner of the room, a small stage with duet mics set up appeared. Al and Eavan raced towards the stage, and Eavan grabbed the mic, rambling briefly about the brilliant victory today. She then motioned for Al to start the music. Al did happily.

**"Hi! We're your Weather Girls." **Eavan started with a grin, immediately followed by Al,  
**  
"And have we got news for you!"**

"**You better listen! And get ready, all you lonely girls, and leave those umbrellas at home**!" Eavan continued, glancing at the clock to see it nearing 10:25.

Everyone in the room just stared at the two girls, confused as to what was going on, and the boys were absolutely clueless.

"_**Humidity is rising - Barometer's getting low  
According to all sources, the street's the place to go  
Cause tonight for the first time  
Just about half-past ten  
For the first time in history  
It's gonna start raining men!"**_Eavan and Al both sang in perfect unison, and when the last line was sung the two girls simultaneously cast a spell over the room, in secrecy of course so that no one knew that it had, in fact, been them to do it.

First it was a couple of the younger Gryffindors, then gradually it led up to James, Sirius, and Remus to feel a strange tugging sensation and before they knew what was happening they were hovering dangerously close to the ceiling….before falling to the ground and repeating the process while to two girls continued to sing the song. All the girls in the room cheered and giggled at what was going on, the only ones who weren't amuse by it were, obviously, the boys who were perpetually falling from the ceiling.

**"Bloody hell!"** Sirius cried, thrashing around in mid air. James looked at him and Remus, wiggling himself before colliding with the floor.

**"I don't understand this!"** He yelled over the music at his friends. Remus oofed too as he hit the floor,

**"Maybe this is revenge for your stupidity earlier?"** He offered. James furrowed his brow, and Remus continued.

**"With Lily and the other girls?"** Sirius shot James a look, as he too hit the floor.

**"This is your fault then!?"** He cried angrily. The other men in the room all shot James dirty looks. He hung his head, and his face hit the floor squarely. They all looked back towards the stage,  
**  
"It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! - It's Raining Men! Amen!  
I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get  
Absolutely soaking wet!  
It's Raining Men! Hallelujah!  
It's Raining Men! Every Specimen!  
Tall, blonde, dark and lean  
Rough and tough and strong and mean!"**

The girls continued, together and happily being cheered on by the rest of the females. One male cried out as he hit the floor,

**"How long is this song?!"** A girl near him smiled,

**"This is only the first verse!"** She said, joining in singing with the girls on stage. From his vantage point in the air, Sirius intently watched Eavan, and how happy she looked. Despite his impacts to the floor, he couldn't help but smile at her happiness. The way her body swayed with the words she sang, and he glanced over at Remus, who was also smiling, but he didn't look like he was looking at Eavan. It dawned on Sirius at that moment; Remus had taken a liking to Al.

At that moment Sirius didn't know Remus at all, the sandy-blonde haired Marauder was the gentleman of Gryffindor, kind and courteous, smart little Remus Lupin. But right now….Sirius frowned, realizing that Remus was sort of acting more like him (being Sirius) than he was himself and it twisted at the silver eyed boy's insides to know that Eavan was going to get hurt by his best mate.

With the next _'oof'_ against the hard floor the air was knocked right out of his chest and he gasped in surprise, but the only thing he could think about was talking to Remus after the party.

Lily giggled as James fell right in front of her feet and pouted cutely, jutting out his lower lip and frowning,

"**Lily-flower I'm so sorry for whatever I did! Please forgive me, my love**!" Before he was thrust back up into the air and dropped from the ceiling once more.

The red-head bit her lip, a part of her felt bad that the boys, especially James, were going through this, but another part, a much stronger part, was thoroughly enjoying their torture at the girls expense.

The song continued, and Al could feel eyes on her. She glanced around, continueing to sing, and she came face to face with the eyes of Remus Lupin. She could feel her face get flushed, but she continued to sing. She didn't want to stop the song, the men hadn't suffered enough. She didn't know why he was staring. Did she look strangely, or was there something on her cloths? Or was he interested? Her heart jumped into her throat and she felt herself sway her hips more, and she watched Remus's eyes travel downwards. She felt powerful for once in her life, and she liked it.

As the song ended, all the men hit the floor one final time, and the singers bowed. The women applauded loudly, and the men grumbled, picking themselves up off the floor. As James picked himself up, Lily giggled, and couldn't contain herself, she pulled him towards her, and their lips connected. Everyone, including James, was stunned to silence. Eavan and Al giggled, and Sirius smiled lightly, Remus more or less looked away.

**"Was that completely necessary?"** Sirius asked Al and Eavan as they walked up. They giggled, and Eavan shrugged, speaking.

**"I think so. Don't you agree Al?"** She asked, looking towards her. She nodded,

**"Very much so."** They grinned, and walked off with Lily. A few moments later, the men reappeared baring drinks this time. They offered them towards the girls, and they shrugged. Al grabbed one first, shocking everyone,

**"Let's get trashed!"** She said, downing the shot. Eavan grabbed one, downed it, and bleched,

**"Yeah! God that tasted terrible."**

Sirius noticed that as Remus began to drink he subtly scooted closer and closer to Al until they were sitting side-by-side, leaving Eavan by herself on the other side of Lily. The silver eyed boy wasn't even beginning to feel the effects of the Firewhiskey in his system yet, he and James were proud to admit that from years of practice and underage drinking they were able to hold their alcohol fairly well. He glanced over to the girls, Eavan seemed like the only one of the three who wasn't starting to feel fuzzy-headed yet, he smirked, _so she's had a drink or two before too, hm? Somehow I'm not too surprised._

His smirk vanished when he noticed the somewhat intoxicated Al and Remus practically in each other's laps, snuggling cutely. Well, it would have been cute had Remus been single…and if his girlfriend hadn't been sitting right across from him. Sirius felt an aching pang in his heart when he thought about how hurt she must feel to see him cuddling it up with her best friend.

"**Oi, James! Pass me another round!"** Eavan demanded light-heartedly, a small grin tugging at the corners of her lips.

Sirius tilted his head, confusion etched deep into his misty silver eyes, she could clearly see Remus and Al but…what had him baffled was that she wasn't doing anything to stop it, she didn't even look in the least bit hurt by their actions. What kind of relationship did she and Moony have anyway? Or was she trying to ignore it…?

Al could feel her heart racing, the closer Remus got to her. She couldn't believe this was happening. Not only was she drinking with friends, she could actually call them that, and on top of that, one of those said friends was her love interest of the last four years of her life, and he was currently sitting so close to her she could feel the heat coming off his body into hers. She continued to down Firewhiskey to keep her nerve up, and at this point she could hardly see straight. She looked towards the group, and she saw Sirius watching her and Remus, and it made her squirm slightly. She knew being like this with him was wrong, that Eavan was one of her closest friends, and this wasn't right, but he had started it, and she figured all would be forgotten tomorrow anyhow.

As the others started to file out of the room, Al looked at Lily as she smiled devilishly, and spoke,

**"I propose we play a game!"** She cried with delight. Everyone glanced at each other, and shrugged,

**"Like what?"** Al chimed in. Lily seemed happy someone said something to her idea.

**"Truth or dare?"** She suggested. Eavan smiled wickedly from her spot,

**"Sounds like fun to me."** She agreed. Al nodded, and the males simply shrugged. Al shifted on the couch so she faced the others slightly, and Remus swung his arm over the back of the couch, around Al's shoulders, and he caught Sirius staring this time, and he honestly didn't care at this point, it felt right to him, so he did it. All eyes went to Lily as she spoke to Sirius,

**"I dare you, Sirius Black, to give a lap dance to anyone in this group."**

Sirius' eyes danced around the room, examining each person sitting in their lopsided circle before they landed on Remus. He felt an aching pang in his heart when his eyes met the light blue ones of his friend and Sirius felt a sudden surge within him begging to get a rise out of Remus. Granted, at this point Remus probably wouldn't even care, judging from the position he and Al were in.

A playful smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, "**Oh Ave**!"

James choked on the saliva in his mouth and burst out laughing, and even Lily giggled uncontrollably as Sirius positioned himself hovering over the blonde and raven haired girl's lap and began to sway his hips softly before it become more vigorous. The messy haired boy with glasses snorted, taking his leg and stretching it out to kick Sirius lightly. The silver eyed boy let out a surprised yelp, quickly turning himself around so that he didn't completely smush Eavan.

Silence reigned over the small group for a good 5 minutes as Sirius and Eavan stared into each other's eyes, not even noticing the compromising position they were in. Sirius was holding himself up by his hands on either side of Eavan's shoulders, while their legs were intertwined together. Remus coughed awkwardly, finally breaking himself away from Al long enough to shoot Sirius a disapproving look, to which the silver eyed boy ignored, he was too lost in the emerald sea that was Eavan's bright eyes.

Al giggled lightly as Sirius invaded Eavan's personal space. This game had always amused her, but this was a more intense version then she'd played in recent memory. Though, from the company she was beginning to keep, she should have guessed nothing would be the same juvenile way it had been before.

This entire night had been a strange turn of events for her, though she couldn't say she minded any of it. She had been hanging out with friends, and enjoying a Quidditch match, which was new to her. She found the sport very entertaining, despite what she thought of it originally. She also enjoyed the group she was with, and then being spontaneous and breaking out of her shell enough to cheer up Lily had helped, and this was her first time having alcohol outside of home, and she had to admit drinking with friends was much more fun. And, then things with Remus started to get a little more...touchy. He hadn't been like this before, but she didn't say she minded. It was quiet the opposite, actually.

As Sirius yelped, her thoughts were broken. She looked to see him standing over Eavan, and she could feel the room get silent. They just stared...it seemed like a long time before Remus shifted and coughed; though as much as he seemed to disapprove, he didn't remove his arm from the back of the couch; he merely straightened himself, and in turn leaned more towards Al, which made it seem almost hypocritical for him to make eyes at Sirius. Before anything else got more awkward, Al spoke up,

**"Lily, truth or dare?"**

**"Uh...truth?"** She stammered, getting slight sighs from the others. Al smiled,

**"Whose on top, you or James?"** The group giggled, and looked at her expectantly.

Time seemed to have stopped for Sirius and Eavan, and even though he had now been able to force himself off of her their eyes were still connected. Her cheeks were dusted over by a light tinge of pink from embarrassment but Sirius found himself thinking how adorable she was when she was flustered, which led to thoughts of him and her…alone…

He shook his head to clear away the thoughts that were invading his mind, what the hell was wrong with him?

"**Hypothetically, if me and James were to do such things, he'd prefer me to be on top because he **_**hypothetically**_** has a fetish for such things….this is all hypothetical, of course."** Lily blushed madly while side-ways glancing at James.

Al giggled, "**Oh, **_**of course**_**, Lily!**"

The frazzled redhead hid her face in James' shoulder while the rest of the group snickered.

"**Alright, Ave, Truth or Dare?"** James turned to her, enjoying the feeling of Lily snuggled up against him.

"**Dare**."

His lips twitched into a smirk, "**I dare** **you to give Sirius a strip tease**." He had definitely not missed the way his best mate had stared at her, and since Remus was a little too preoccupied with someone else, James was going to take full advantage of the situation.

Al grinned lightly at James's dare. Remus cocked an eyebrow, but let it slide. He looked back at Al, who looked up at him, her eyes shining with amusement, and he just stared, he couldn't turn his eyes away until he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He watched Ave stand up, and position herself in front of Sirius.

She was excited, her hands shook lightly. She never felt this thrill when she was going to do something for or with Remus. Maybe it was because she wasn't supposed to do this while dating Remus; but that wasn't going to stop her. She wanted to do this. She ran her hands down her sides, and she could feel Sirius's eyes fall her hands every move. She tugged the hem of her shirt slowly, exposing inch by inch of her skin to the boy before her. She pulled it even slower as she got right beneath her upper chest. She pulled it slowly over her head, and dropped it behind her. She bit her lip as she looked down at him, and she worked her hands past her bra and back to her pants line. She hooked her thumb into the corner and she exposed her hip to him. He swallowed hard, and he shifted on the couch. He was trying to hide his own excitement, but was doing very poorly.

**"Merlin Ave.."** He partly moaned. She smiled at him, and she stepped closer to him, and unbuttoned her pants, and slowly pulled down the zipper. She began to slide them off her legs, and exposed more skin to him. He couldn't stand it any longer as her legs were exposed to him, he ran his hand up her thigh and he slide it up her thigh, and over to her underwear clad butt, gripping one cheek rather tightly. She giggled in shock, and Remus spoke up finally,

**"Ay, mate! Hands**."He said gently. He didn't really sound angry though, shockingly. Before Ave could do anymore damage, she quickly pulled her cloths back on and she looked towards Al, smiling evilly.

**"Al, truth or dare?"**

**"Dare."** Al challenged back, smirking in return.

Eavan put her finger to her chin in deep thought, trying to come up with a good enough dare to give her friend. She wanted something that would make Al awkward, like she had felt during her last dare with Sirius….and then she had it. The emerald eyed Gryffindor smirked playfully, pointing a finger at her friend, "**I dare you, Al, to give Remy a hickey**!"

Everyone was taken by surprise by her dare, had it been anyone else they would've laughed but that was _her _boyfriend that she was suggesting this be done to. Sirius caught Remus' eye and noticed the subtle brightness that seemed to shine from the dare made by Eavan and it made him sick.

Al turned to Remus, her face bright red, and slowly leaned down to trail light kisses from his jaw-line to his collarbone where she began to nibble on the skin and suck the growing red mark that was beginning to form. The sandy blonde haired man bit back a groan of pleasure, lolling his head to the side and tightening his grip around her shoulders. The tiny brunette took this as a sign to go on further, clamping down on his collar a little harder than before and sucking on the tender skin. That seemed to be one of his special-spots, she realized, when he let out a small moan, wanting her to keep going. As much as she wanted to, she knew that if she did then there could be consequences, namely from Eavan, though thinking about it now, Al did find it strange that her friend would pick her own boyfriend to be the victim in this situation…

Al stopped, pushing gently away from Remus to admire her work, a big bright purplish-red mark lying over his collarbone.

"**Wow…er…James? Truth or Dare?"** Sirius swallowed the pooling of saliva in his mouth, still feeling slightly aroused by Eavan's earlier dare and sort of wishing that that had been him and her just now rather than Remus and Al.

As she smiled at the mark she'd left on Remus, his head lowly lulled back towards her, and his normal blue eyes. She hadn't ever seen anything like them. She swallowed, and quickly looked away from him as Sirius spoke again. She felt her face dusted very pink, and she couldn't focus. She wanted to leave more marks on Remus if he was going to react like that...

James started to respond when Peter came and sat very closely to his side that wasn't occupied by Lily. He smiled at the group awkwardly, and spoke,

**"Oi! What's going on?"** He said more cheerily then any of them would have wished. They just stared at him, and he looked around, as if wondering who they were looking at. He looked behind him, and stood for a second,

**"Excuse me for a second!"** He said in the same cheery tone. He made his way towards the bathroom. As he entered, Sirius jerked his head towards the door. Everyone nodded silently, and they made towards the door slowly, slow enough to hear,

**"That one blew my hair back!"** Come from the bathroom, and they all moved a little faster towards the exit. As they entered the hallway, the group moved slowly down the hallway, and started to laugh uproariously. They braced themselves on the wall, but only had a second to catch their breath as they heard the mewl of a cat, and the angry voice of Filch cry,

**"Whose out there?!"** The entire group bolted in different directions at this point; Lily and James down one hall. Remus and Al down some stairs, and Eavan and Sirius out a door leading towards the outside corridors.

XOXO

Al wasn't much for running and could already feel a stitch forming in her side, her lungs burned for more oxygen and she found herself wanting to just stop running altogether, but Remus had grabbed onto her hand, dragging her along behind him, wherever he was headed. To be completely honest, she wasn't sure if he even knew where he was going, just that they were running from Filch.

She felt herself being pulled into a room, the door shutting behind them and she immediately recognized where they were, but how they made it all the way down to the Dungeons that quickly, she had no idea. Cauldrons were still set up in the Potions room, Slughorn must've been too lazy to clean up after his last class, and she mused.

Remus turned around to face her and she felt a lump form in her throat under the intense, smoldering gaze that he was giving her. She wasn't sure why, but the way he was staring at her made her feel uncomfortable and giddy at the same time.

"**I…uh…you think he's gone yet**?" She stuttered nervously.

Remus sat down on one of the empty desks and shrugged, "**Now that he knows there's students out, he'll more than likely be prowling the halls. I suggest we stay in here for a while, just to be safe."**

She nodded, hopping up onto the space on the desk beside him, swinging her legs over the side like a child would, "**So, I'm surprisingly having a really good time tonight…"**

He tilted his head, "**Was there any doubt that you would have a good time?"**

"**Well, no it's not that it's just…I didn't want to be all awkward."**

"**What do you mean?"** He scooted closer to her, making her heart flutter.

"**I..er…well, you know…James and Lily…you and Eavan…and then there's just me, crushing on a taken man and I—er I mean! Uh…" **She bit her lip, her cheeks heating up from embarrassment at letting her secret out.

It may have been a trick of the dim moon lighting, but she could have sworn that she saw a glint of mischief gleam in his light blue eyes as he stared her down with a lustful gaze.

"**Are you trying to say that you have a crush on me, dear?" **He grinned, gently stroking her cheek with his index finger, making her shiver with delight.

Al leaned in to his touch, momentarily closing her eyes, "**I..Well, yeah, since like…2****nd**** year actually…"**

He leaned in closer to her so that his lips were just a breath apart before whispering, "**Well, good things come to those who wait, love."**

She didn't even have time to process what he had meant before his lips crashed onto hers in a passionate, lust-filled kiss. Al could feel his desire for her pouring out in his kiss as he gently thrust his tongue into her mouth, she moaned, pushing herself closer to him and letting her tongue defiantly battle for dominance over his own.

The sandy blonde pushed her down onto the table and straddled her waist, their tongues still doing a tango of passion while his hand slowly inched its way up her shirt, sending a shiver through her spine with ever gentle touch. Al moan, arching her back, her arm twitched and knocked into the table next to them, sending the cauldron that had been on top of it tumbling to the floor with a loud clatter, a strange liquid spewing everywhere.

Al jumped at the sound, startled; as did Remus and they both glanced down at the mess on the floor. Where the strange potion hand landed the floor had begun to be eaten away until there was nothing but a large hole in the middle of the floor.

"…**What the hell kind of potion was that?!"** The petite brunette stared, still feeling flustered by what had just happened between her and Remus, but also fearful that Filch might have heard the noise and was on his way to investigate.

Remus shrugged, biting his lip nervously.

"**I like you too, Al."**

"**What?"** She stared at him incredulously.

He cleared his throat, but his voice still came out a little husky, "**I've liked you for a while too."**

"**Then…what about Eav…?"**

Remus frowned; he honestly didn't know what to do about Eavan. This wasn't like him at all, and he didn't want to break her heart, but at the same time his feelings for her were waning more and more with each passing day. He wanted Al in every possible sense, tonight had definitely proven that, even if he had acted on his instincts because of the full moon coming up, fact of the matter was that the feelings would have still been there, full moon or not. He just needed to figure out what to do with them…

XOXO

It hadn't crossed Eavan's mind that they were outside. She didn't know where they were going, but she trusted Sirius to take care of her, no matter where they went. She tripped mildly, but Sirius caught her on the way down. She giggled lightly, and pulled herself up.

**"Whoops!"** She muttered with a drunken grin. He pulled her up, and their bodies touched, and she blushed, and she looked at his eyes, she wanted to kiss him at that moment. She felt her eyes flicker down towards his lips, and she looked back at his eyes.

**"Is it bad I want to kiss you, Sirius Black?"** She asked, whispering. He smiled,

**"Not as bad as the fact I want to let you; despite knowing Remus is my best mate."** He said, somewhat sadly. He wanted her, more then he'd ever wanted anything. He pulled away before he could do that to Remus. She looked disappointed, but he didn't care at this point. He swung an arm over her shoulders, and he moved them towards the Quidditch Pitch. As they pushed the stadium doors open, he held it open for her, and she moved past him. Before he could stop himself, he caught up with her, and slapped her cheek he'd grabbed earlier.

**"You have a nice ass." **He commented, making her blush and mumble a thank you. She looked at the ground, and glanced at him as he sat down in the center of the field. She went and sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her waist, and he pulled her to him. He leaned into her ear, and he whispered,

**"You are beautiful, Ave."** He knew he shouldn't be doing this, but he didn't know how else he could stand it. He started to whisper other sweet sentiments into her ear, and she leaned her self into him. He was making her feel so different then Remus ever had. Remus had been great to her, but she didn't feel this connection with Remus. He couldn't make her get out of his mind, and he was starting to lie down, and he pulled her with him. She curled into his side, and she looked up at him.

**"You really believe that?"** Her eyes held question. He nodded, with a smile.

**"More then anything in the world, Love."** He said to her. She could feel her eyes brim with tears. He used his thumb to wipe away the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. She smiled sadly, and she looked back up at the sky,

**"I don't understand this..the way I'm feeling with you. I care about Remus, but I don't know how I can go on with these feelings for you Sirius."** She sat up, breaking the hold he had on her. She stood up, and she began to pace.

**"I mean, when Remus and I started dating, I didn't know you, and you were just there. Yeah, so you were good looking. Your Sirius Bloody Black, of course you were. But then you became my friend, and I thought to myself 'Sure, he's charming, but he's just being nice.' But, then no, you had to become a thing to me! I can't stop thinking about you, and when I kiss Remus, I think of you, and I know Remus keeps things from me! I know I can't be perfect for him! We are so different! But he is such a sweet person, but I see the way he looks at Al, and I see the way she's always looked at him, I know she's liked him for a long time, and I think they'd be more suitable for each other, but I'm scared I'd hurt him. And then, I know I want you. More then you even begin to know Sirius, Merlin! But I don't know what to do..."** She was in tears at this point, and he moved to his feet, he pulled her against him, and he pulled her mouth to his. Her tears wet his face, and he pulled back, holding her shoulders tightly so she was looking at him.

**"I have never felt for someone the way I feel about you. I cannot sleep, I don't want to eat when I think about you and Remus. I just want to hold you, and make you mine forever, Ave. I cannot stand the sight of Remus most days, and it isn't fair to him, but you have to tell him...if you really want to be with me."** He didn't mean to sound demanding, but that was the truth. He had to have her. Before he could speak again, she pushed him beneath her, and she locked their lips together. She bit his lip, and forced her tongue into his mouth. She still cried a little bit, and she looked down at him.

**"I will...I just need time..and right now, I need you.."** She trailed off. She didn't know what possessed her to say such things, but she couldn't help it. Sirius smiled at her wickedly, and he ran his hand up her side, and back down, toying with the waistline of her pants,

**"As you wish."**


	5. Chapter 5

The light from the windows wasn't enough to stir the sleeping figures on the tables of the Great Hall, but the noise of the Sunday breakfast eaters was. Severus Snape sat down at the Slytherin table, only to come face to face with a sleeping Sirius Black. He scoffed, and smirked lightly, seeing he had his friend Remus Lupin's girlfriend in arms. He knew this would go badly later, but he decided breakfast was more important then their pain. He pushed Sirius's shoulder harshly, sending him and the girl falling to the floor with a scream and clatter.

**"Bloody Hell!"** Sirius winced, as another body that fell from the table above him landed him on. He looked around and he came face to face with a bit of disgruntled Ave. He smiled lightly, bringing a hand to his head.

**"Morning love...." **He trailed off as they tried to stand, and wobbly moved towards the door, which was pushed open by group including an embarrassed looking James and Lily followed by Professor Dumbledore, who looked at him, and Ave, and blinked,

**"Rough night, Mr. Black?"** He said, his voice booming in Sirius's ears. He winced, and went to move towards the door, but had his path bared.

**"I think you are forgetting something."** He said, motioning towards the Gryffindor Table where Al and Remus were cuddled similarly to the way they had been, and were being used as a table by the first years already at breakfast.

"**Oh, that's right, I almost forgot about them…"** Eavan trailed off, looking rather sheepish that she had forgotten about her 'boyfriend' and her best friend. Sirius sent James an amused grin when his best mate turned a dark shade of crimson and bowed his head, Lily was no better, and her face matched the brilliant shade of red that was her hair.

"**I smell bacon…"** Al sniffed the air, stirring in her sleep before opening her eyes and sitting up, causing the plate of food that one first year had been eating off her stomach to topple over and spill all over her legs. She stared in confusion at the wide eyed first years who hadn't expected her to wake up and picked up a piece of bacon off her legs, shoving it in her mouth.

Remus yawned, sitting up and smiling affectionately at Al beside him before noticing that they weren't in the Gryffindor common room…

"**Bloody hell, what happened last night?!" **He cried.

Al rubbed her eyes as she looked around. It hadn't even occurred to her she wasn't in the Common room anymore...had she ever been in the Common room?

**"I...remember something about drinking. What happened to your neck? I think I did that. My head hurts. Why is everyone talking so loud?! Why am I talking so loud!?"** She whined, holding her ears. Remus crawled off the table, and he pulled her off, supporting her with one arm.

**"It's alright..Let's get upstairs."** He said, pulling her towards the door they could exit, someone caught her rob. She looked back to see it was Severus. He furrowed his brow at her,

**"What the hell did you do last night?"** He asked her, slightly concerned. She smiled weakly.

**"Honestly, I don't really remember...but I feel I should apologize to Professor Slughorn. I'm not sure why. Oh well. I'll see you around, Kay Sev?"** She didn't see him as much, but she still regarded Severus as a close friend. As she and Remus reached the door, she saw Ave and Sirius looking similar to their state, and Lily and James as well. They all greeted each other, and then moved towards the Dorms. They all parted ways, and went to shower. After they showered, Ave made her way back to the room to find Al already there, laying on her back looking at the ceiling.

**"Ave..What do we do about Remus?"**

Eavan arched an eyebrow in surprise, she hadn't expected Al to ask her something like that this early in the morning, but now that she thought about it...

"**I..I need to talk to him. I'm just scared of hurting him, I know he has feelings for you, but I just don't want it to seem like I'm leaving him for his best mate, ya'know?"**

Al's lips twisted into a grin, "**So you **_**do**_** like Sirius then! I knew it!"**

The blonde blushed, biting her lip before nodding her head slowly as she recalled what had happened the night before. Well she couldn't remember much of it to be honest, some parts were hazy while others were crystal clear, and she could remember some of what happened at the Quidditch Pitch…

Eavan's eyes widened and her face turned a deep shade of scarlet.

"**Why's your face so red? Are you sick?"** Al hopped off the bed and placed the back of her hand against Eavan's forehead,

" **Merlin! You're burning up! C'mon, I'll walk you to the Hospital Wing**."

"**No no no, I'm fine I promise."** The emerald eyed girl assured her friend, even though now that she thought about it her throat did feel a little sore, but first things first: she needed to talk to Remus.

Over in the male dorms, no one was fairing much better. None of the three spoke much; they simply stared at each other, and then would look away. As they came back from the showers, Remus swiftly moved away from the group, and pulled open his trunk. He rifled through it, and he pulled out a collared shirt and some pants. He pulled the shirt onto himself, and he started to button it up, when Sirius called his name,

**"Oi, Moony?"** He spoke gently. Remus turned, and he felt Sirius's eyes make for his neck, and he pulled his shirt collar up higher, and buttoned faster,

**"Yeah?"** Remus asked.

**"What're we doin mate?"** He asked, some to himself, and partly to Remus. He cast his silver eyes down to the floor. Remus sighed,

**"I'm not entirely sure..."** He didn't speak again, merely pulled on the rest of his cloths, and he moved off towards the door. James and Sirius looked after him, and he waved them off, mentioning having to clear his head. As he moved towards the stairs out of the Gryffindor tower, he bumped into a smaller body, and he felt his insides flip at the sight. His nerves shook.

**"Hello Ave.."**

Eavan jumped in surprise when she felt herself collide with another body and stiffened a little out of nervousness when she saw that it was the man she had been looking for. Seeing him standing there before her made everything seem more real than ever before and her stomach began to twist into knots, making her feel even more sick than she already did.

"**Hey Rem, I uh, I…I think we should talk…"** She bit her lip, gently grabbing onto his sleeve and pulling him towards the portrait hole and out into the empty corridor, keeping her eyes on the floor the entire time.

"**Ave listen I.."  
**

"**Rem listen I…" **

They both blinked, before Remus motioned for her to continue.

"**I know you like Al and I…no, no I'm not mad, please don't give me the guilty puppy look, Rem**." She felt a little uneasy with what she was about to say, mainly because she didn't want him to think she was a bitch or a slag for it,

"**And I know she's liked you since like…what…2****nd**** year? Anyway, I think we should…you know…"**

"**Break up?"** Remus tilted his head, it hurt him to see her uneasy by her own words and the thought hit him that this was his fault, she was breaking up with him because she knew he didn't have the same feelings for her that he had when they had initially started to date. "**Ave, I'm so sorry…"**

She shook her head as he apologized. She held uncertainty in her eyes, but she knew she had to do this. She wasn't being completely percent open here, but she didn't want to drag Sirius into this. She spoke again, smiling sadly,

**"No, Remus. It's all right! We had a good run, but it just wasn't meant to be. No harm done, yeah?"** She watched as he nodded and smiled somberly. She smiled back, and she started to turn to go, but not before casting a glance over her shoulder,

**"No hard feelings?"** She asked with a slightly pleading smile. He nodded, and smiled lightly.

**"No hard feelings."** He agreed. He knew she was right; they had had a good relationship. They'd been happy for a while, it just wasn't meant to be. It happened, it wasn't the end of the world. She seemed to have moved on, and that was all right with him. He didn't want things to be awkward with Sirius or Ave, but he knew, logically, things probably would be.

XOXO

And, as he had predicted, things were slightly awkward. The group was divided most of the time now, he and Al were together, and Ave and Sirius spent their time together as well. James went back and forth, as did Lily. The females seemed to think the not speaking business was overrated because long before the males even thought about reconciling issues, the group of Females had become just as they were before. One evening at dinner, the group was attempting to sit together, the females chatting like nothing was wrong.

Remus sent a glance down at Sirius and James, and they looked back at him, and he looked away again. Al looked at them, and they looked down at their food. She furrowed her brow, and Lily spoke, having seen it too.

**"Enough boys. This is stupid," **She said, slightly exasperated, as Ave nodded,

**"I agree."** She said as she did. Al nodded as well, and she looked at Remus, who wouldn't look up.

**"Rem, please."** She pleaded. She could see his jaw clench, but his head didn't move. She sighed, and put her elbow on the table and rested her head on her fist. Ave tried her luck,

**"Come on Sirius, for me?"** She begged. He too looked away, and she was left pouting. Lily shot James a look, and he looked at his friends.

**"Oi, mates, they're right."** He said, not wanting Lily mad at him, but he did agree, this had gone on long enough. A glint came to Sirius's eye, and he looked back towards Remus. Ave didn't like that look, but before she could do anything, he had some food on his spoon, and he was twisting it around on his plate. He then looked at Remus's coat, and smiled; just before flicking the mashed potatoes right at Remus. Al leaned away as the slightly clumpy mess slid down Remus's torso. Remus kept his jaw clenched, but Al saw something she hadn't seen all dinner; amusement.

**"Oops, sorry about that Moony."** Sirius added nonchalantly.

James snorted into his eggs before he felt something wet and slimy slide down the side of his face and drop into his lap while the rest of the table burst into fits of giggles. Remus shot James a smug look before throwing a spoon full of peas at Sirius, only to miss completely and hit Eavan in the forehead.

"**Whoops, sorry Ave, I was aiming for**—" He didn't have time to apologize as she sent a slab of jiggly jello spraying across the front of his shirt.

At that point one 3rd year who had been watching from halfway down the table stood up and declared,

"**FOOD FIGHT!"** sending the entire hall into an uproarious battle of food, tables were turned on their sides for students to barricade themselves behind and food was flung everywhere. The whole fight ended up turning into a House event, Gryffindors would try to nail the Slytherins, Ravenclaws were torn between the two houses, and the Hufflepuffs wisely decided to run for it while they still could.

"**What's with all this rumpus? Who started this mess?!"** None other than Professor Slughorn had had the misfortune to walk into the Great Hall at that moment, only to be pelted with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Almost every finger was pointed at the Marauders; even a few traitorous Gryffindors had decided to play the blame game for the giant mess.

Al bit her lip, she didn't want Remus or the other boys to get into trouble for this, even if it was their fault, they had only been trying to reconcile their differences. Thinking quickly, she blurted out,

"**Lucius Malfoy burned a hole in the Potions Lab!"**

Slughorn looked positively torn between dishing out detention to the unruly Marauders, and concerned for his classroom. The latter won, of course, and the older man rushed off to tend to his precious classroom.

As the frumpy old teacher bumbled his way out of the Great Hall, everyone pushed their tables back up, and made a mad dash for the doors. Everyone giggled uproariously as they made their way back towards their houses. The Marauders and their girls moved back up, briefly parting ways to go change cloths and take showers. As they all finished, the girls moved in a group back down towards the commons room. What they saw upon reaching it delighted them all. Remus, Sirius and James were doubled over laughing about something Sirius had said prior to them coming down the stairs.

**"Consequently, I never knew Snivelly would wear boxers with Elephants on them, so once I finished the panty raid, I left them on Regulus's bed, and he took the blame. Oh, ello Loves."** He said, looking at the girls, grinning. Ave moved towards him, and he pulled her towards him. She smiled, and turned in his embrace to face the others; Al now sitting on the side of Remus's chair and Lily on James's left. Sirius looked at Al, and he furrowed his brow,

**"I wanted to ask you how you knew Malfoy blew the hole in Slughorn's floor."** As he finished, her composure broke, as did Remus's and they both dissolved into a fit of giggles. Al fell into Remus's lap of the side of the armchair, and wiped her eye lightly,

**"Malfoy didn't do it, I did."** She said between gasps. They all seemed shocked.

**"You?! When?!"** James asked. Remus spoke up this time,

**"The night after the Quidditch match where we all ran from Filch. We knocked a Cauldron off a table, and whatever was in the bloody thing ate through the floor."** He cleared up. The group still seemed rather shocked, until Ave giggled, and the rest of the group thanked them for their carelessness. Ave got a glint in her eye, and she asked them,

**"What were you doing to knock over a cauldron?"** She smirked as Remus's face got rather red, and Al coughed lightly,

**"Well...Nothing terrible."** She offered. Ave didn't accept that as a full answer.

**"Such as?"** She pried.

**"Nothing you and Sirius don't do every day."** Al challenged back, getting a slightly blushing grin from Ave.

**"Well, that sounds like more then Remus and I ever did."** She said, still grinning, and Remus growing more and more uncomfortable. Al smirked, his awkwardness made her find him even more adorable. Sirius spoke up, looking at Remus,

**"You alright there, Moony? You seem a little tense."** Remus shot him a look, and he started to speak, when someone else entered the common room, and stunned them all to silence. Peter looked at them and he froze. Al furrowed her brow,

**"Is that my bra?"** She asked. He looked at his chest, and he looked away. Sirius then spoke,

**"I think those are my pants!"** He added. James was next,

**"Oi! Those are my other glasses!"** Peter was starting to look a bit awkward.

Remus frowned when he saw the pair of blue and white striped boxers over Sirius' pants, "**Are you wearing my boxers, mate?"**

Lily tilted her head to the side, "**He's wearing my heels!"**

Eavan bit her lip, a light tinge of pink fluttered across her cheeks when she saw a certain familiar pair of black silk panties with blue lace around the edges on his head as if it were a hat,

"**What the hell, Peter! Those are mine**!" She made to grab for the undergarments, but he dodged out of the way, wobbling to steady himself.

Peter backed away slowly, sweating bullets as the group began to advance on him,

"**It-it's not what it looks like guys!" **He stammered.

"**Then what the hell is this? You wanted to look pretty and decided to play dress up with all of our clothes? By the way, the only one allowed to touch Ave's panties are me, mate."** Sirius quickly snatched the sexy panties off of the pudgy boy's head and swiftly thrust them into his pocket, shooting Eavan a mischievous smirk.

Peter looked from the group to the door, and he started to back up. Remus moved towards him, and he spoke softly, as if to a frightened animal,

**"Now Peter, be rational. If you run out there, Filch will catch you, and you will be humiliated in front of Dumbledore. Just give us our cloths back, and everything will be fine."** Remus gradually got closer as he spoke slowly. Peter's eyes grew wider, and he backed up again.

**"You are going to take my cloths!"** He hissed. Had his lost his mind?! Lily took a step closer,

**"No, we won't."** She tried to assure, in a voice much like Remus's. He wiped his sweaty hands on the boxers, and Al snapped.

**"That's my favorite bra! Give it back! And those are Remus's, not yours!"** She seethed, and she chased him out into the hallway. He squealed like a woman and ran down the stairs. Al ran after him, and had to admit, she had never seen someone run so fast in a pair of heels.

Remus took off after Al and Peter, surprised by how fast the pudgy boy could actually run, or perhaps it was just from the adrenaline of being chased, either way, he was mildly impressed. He vaguely could hear the footfalls of the rest of the group behind him and knew that they were catching up to him and Al and Peter, who by now was huffing and wheezing from the exertion on his poor out-of-shape body.

Finally, Peter took a turn down one of the dead-end hallways and they had him, cornered like a rat (pun intended), with nowhere to run or hide. Al took a cautious step forward, watching his every move as he shook with what appeared to be fright.

"**Now, give everyone their clothes back, you creeper."**

Remus took a step forward, and while Peter was distracted by Al, snatched the bra from his chest and held it protectively in his arms, somewhat triumphantly.

"**What've we got here? Lupin I didn't know you wore bras, I must say the color doesn't suit you well.**" Lucius Malfoy had been walking back to the Slytherin dormitory when he heard a ruckus in the corridors and had decided to see what was going on, and he was glad that he did.

Eavan came barreling down the hallway and was unable to stop in time before her body collided with that of the bleach-blonde 7th year Slytherin, causing both students to fall to the floor unceremoniously.

"**You filthy little mudblood, get off of me!"** He roughly shoved her off of him, giving her a deadly glare.

As someone spoke rudely to Remus, Al felt herself gradually get angry, until said person was knocked to the floor. She giggled, and the snoody blonde shot some choice words at Eavan. She narrowed her eyes, and she stalked past Remus, taking the bra from his hand and shaking it in the face of the blond miscreant.

**"So sorry my choice of lingerie isn't your taste, Lucius. Say, did you enjoy Slughorn's detention? You should really be more careful."** She chided, getting dangerously close to him. She didn't like Slytherins, and she would make that known. Her friendship with Severus was different, for he didn't treat her like this. The words he had spewed at Eav could have offended more then just her.

**"Watch your mouth, Landor."** He challenged back down at her. Someone from behind them spoke, getting closer,

**"Or what, Malfoy?"** Snarled Sirius. He pulled Ave towards him, and he too started to close in on the Slytherin. The group stopped as someone came towards them.

**"Problem here?"** The baritone voice of Severus Snape asked. His eyes went to James as he spoke,

**"Piss off, Snivelly." **He returned. Snape came closer, and he saw that Lily and Al were both involved in this. He got closer, and James and Remus both pulled themselves up closer to their girlfriends. He rolled his eyes, and he looked at Lucius, before he could speak, Lucius pushed past the girls, and Sirius.

**"You will regret this, mark me."** He said, over his shoulder, and he moved past Severus, who moved off after him. The group didn't know what he was implying, but they shrugged it off, and they moved back towards the common room, where plans for the Yule ball fell into place, and they all started to make plans.


	6. Chapter 6

The night of the Yule Ball was fast approaching and the 6th year Gryffindor girls had been rushing around all morning to make sure that everything was perfect for the big dance that night. Even Eavan, who was more of a just-throw-on-your-dress-and-lets-go type of girl, was getting into the spirit of the Yule Ball and helping her fellow dorm-mates and best friends with their own preparations.

"**Hey, Ave, could you help me with my hair…?**" Al asked through a mouth full of hairpins while she tried to hold up the wavy curls of her hair.

The blonde and raven-haired Gryffindor grinned, "**Yeah** **sure! What'd you want to do with it exactly?**"

The petite brunette bit her lip in thought for a moment before shrugging, "**I'm not too sure, something simple yet elegant…have any ideas**?"

"**Hmm…I might, here let me play with it a little and see if we can't come up with something cute."** Eavan tilted her head to the side, surveying her friend for a moment from each side to try and figure out what she could possibly do with her hair…before she got an idea.

Al felt relaxed and at ease when Eavan began to massage her hair gently with her fingers, she closed her eyes halfway through and had almost been lulled into a light sleep when the blonde declared triumphantly that she was finished.

"**What d'ya think? If you don't like it I can redo it…"** She bit her lip in uncertainty as Al opened her eyes and examined herself in the mirror. Her hair was smoothed down on top with a wispy strip of hair framing each side of her face, while in the back her hair was put up so that her curls semi-loosely fell to the nape of her neck. Al jumped up and hugged her friend with a grin.

"**Thank you so much Ave! It looks amazing!"**

Lily wandered over, already dressed in her bottle green dress that hugged her curves in all the right ways and gasped. "**Wow, Al's hair looks amazing!"**

"**Aw guys, you flatter me!"** They all laughed and went their separate ways to finish doing their hair, casting charms over themselves so that not one strand would be out of place.

Eavan had small fringe framing the sides of her face while the rest was pulled back into a very messy bun in the back with many loose curls cascading down to her shoulders in light waves and had worked little light blue flowers into her hair.

Lily had straightened her bangs so that they side-swept over her right eye while the rest of her hair was loosely pulled back and fell down her back in her natural curly waves.

Meanwhile, over in the males' dorms, nothing was going smoothly by any means. The 6th year Marauder boys had sent their pants to be dry-cleaned. James came back in and started to hand them back, realizing he couldn't read the label. He squinted and he looked at one pair of pants, then the others. He couldn't tell a difference, so they couldn't be that different. He shrugged, and he tossed a pair on Remus's bed, and the other on Sirius's bed. He then went to shower.

When he came back, he found Sirius standing by the mirror, looking at his hair. As James walked past him, he saw Remus struggling to get into his pants, and the legs looking a little short. Remus frowned, and before either party could say anything, a curse came from behind them.

**"Bloody Hell!"** Sirius cried, looking down. His pants and belt had slid right off of him, and lay pooled at his feet. James snickered lightly, realizing he'd mixed up his friends' pants.

**"I guess I should have read that note more carefully... Oh well, one outta three ain't bad."** He mused to himself, getting looks from the other two.

**"Say what?"** Sirius said, unamused.

**"The bint who did the pants washing handwriting was worse then yours, so I guess I gave you each the wrong pants. Whoops."** He said, chuckling lightly as his friends grumbled and traded pants. Without any other problems, they moved towards the Commons Room where they were supposed to meet the girls. They were already there, and what the males saw took their breath away. Eav was clad in a light blue dress and mask to match was held at her side. Sirius felt himself swallow, and move towards her.

**"You look beautiful."** He cooed, scaring her as he leaned down and kissed her neck lightly. She smiled,

**"Thank you."** She said, leaning back into him.

Remus' eyes scanned over the scene with little interest until they landed on Al, who was sporting a long red gown with straps that loosely fell off her shoulders, in her hand she held onto a black Venetian mask with red accents that matched her dress.

"**You look positively stunning, Al."** He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled into her cheek affectionately.

James hadn't even noticed anything else happening in the room, as soon as they had made it to the Common Room his eyes had landed on Lily and that's where they had stayed. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on, of course he had known this from year one, but to see her all dressed up just for him made the reality of it really set in. She was his, forever and always, after all those years of fighting, she was finally his.

"**Lily…I…wow, I…you…"**

She giggled and pecked him in the lips lightly,

"**Are you always this articulate?" **She spoke jokingly.

Eavan whirled around, placing her Venetian mask up to her face playfully and grinning, "**Let's get this party started!"**

The group moved towards the Great Hall, and the group took a seat at a table near some of the younger ones in their house, back in a darker corner. Before James could get comfortable, Lily pulled him towards the dance floor.

**"Apparently I'm going to dance."** He mumbled setting her purse down on the table after it was handed to him. As they disappeared from sight, Sirius leaned over, and started to nibble on Ave's ear, and she giggled, pushing at his chest lightly.

**"Stop it! Someone is gunna see you."** She chided. She didn't honestly care, but she didn't want either of them getting into trouble. He smiled, and shook his head, leaning closer to her, and he worked down her neck. Remus rolled his eyes, and turned his head back towards Al, and let his eyes travel down her, and he then realized how low cut the dress really was, and he swallowed the lump in his throat, and Al giggled lightly,

**"Something wrong, Rem?"** She cooed, leaning towards him. He shifted lightly in his seat, and he could feel the heat rising to his face. He glanced back at her, and he felt his breath hitch. She had leaned close to him, and her head was resting on her fist. The light reflected off of the gems on the shoulders of her dress, and he swallowed hard,

**"Gods, Al. You are so beautiful."** He whispered, leaning towards her. She smiled, and blushed herself, and leaned into his kiss. Their chaste kiss was interrupted by a call from across the table,

**"Oh! You doing that reminded me I have to pee!"** Ave announced, loudly. She then stood and walked off. Sirius laughed lightly, and spoke to her retreating back,

**"Mood killer!"**

Eavan laughed and held up her hand to wave, "**I'll be right back, 'kay**?"

Sirius nodded, blowing her a kiss before leaning back against his chair and loosening his tie a little bit, watching her retreating back before she completely disappeared into the crowd of people.

"**God, she's amazing."**

XOXO

Eavan finished doing her business and was washing her hands when she heard the sound of heels clicking against the tiled floor, thinking nothing of it she proceeded to dry her hands, that is until she heard the familiar purr of Bellatrix Black.

"**Taking a break from snogging my blood traitor cousin, I see**." She cooed into her ear. Bellatrix reminded Eavan of a viper, deadly and ready to strike at any moment, she was a crazed pureblood fanatic like her family and that scared Eavan, but she refused to let her fear show outwardly.

"**What do you want, Black."** She spat, reaching for her wand….and mentally cursing herself for leaving it in her purse, which she had left with Sirius.

The eccentric Slytherin let out a particularly shrill cackle, chilling the blonde Gryffindor to the bone and sending a fresh wave a goosebumps to cover her arms,

"**I came to get rid of the mudblood that's tarnishing the noble name of Black."**

Bellatrix brandished her wand and sent a curse Eavan's way, luckily she was able to dodge that one by ducking behind a bathroom stall before darting out of the bathroom and into the hallway, intent on making it back to the Yule Ball. The estranged Slytherin let out another chilling laugh, sending an array of curses Eavan's way, this time she wasn't so lucky, and was sent flying into the stone wall with a sickening _crack_.

"**Hehehe, mother and father will be pleased to hear that the troublesome mudblood had been taken care of**." Bellatrix giggled insanely**, **

"_**Crucio!"**_She cried.

Eavan had never experienced pain like what she was feeling at that very moment, she bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming and giving Bella the satisfaction of her pain but ended up biting it a little too hard, crimson began to coat her teeth and mouth in a metallic-flavored grit. Her body was writhing uncontrollably, she couldn't take it anymore, her insides were on fire and it was absolutely excruciating! The 6th year Gryffindor let out an ear-piercing scream, further amusing Bellatrix, who let out a crazed giggle of satisfaction.

Ave had been gone a while, and it was starting to worry Al. She excused herself from the table, and Remus and Sirius fell back into conversation. She held hands with Remus for as long as her arm length would allow, and she smiled as she left. Something in him didn't want to let her go, but he smiled and looked back to his friend.

As Al left the room, she could feel eyes on her, but she didn't know whose they were. She slipped down the hallway, and felt a hand on her shoulder before she could turn down the hallway the ladies room was on. She gasped, and turned quickly. She exhaled when she saw who it was.

**"Jesus, Severus. You scared me."** She said with a smile. He smiled back, lightly.

**"Not my intention, I assure you."** He said, his baritone voice raspy as it always was. He looked her over, and looked back to her eyes.

**"You look nice."** His comment seemed almost false, but that was due to the fact he was Severus Snape, not that he didn't actually think so.

**"Thank you, you do as well."** She smiled. She looked behind her, and he started to fidget lightly; seemingly conflicted over something. She looked back at him, and he shifted his hands around a bit. She didn't know why,

**"Are you alright, Sev?"** She asked, her brow furrowed. He dropped his head, and he nodded.

**"Yeah...Go find Ave."** He said quietly. She nodded, and then stopped,

**"How did you know I was looking for her?"** She asked. He looked at her, and he swallowed. She didn't get a response, so she started off down the hallway. She rounded a corner, and she screamed, seeing Ave pinned to the wall. Bellatrix looked at her, and laughed. Al took off back towards the room, and Bellatrix screamed after her,

**"Stop her, Severus!"** Al froze as she came into contact with him again in the hallway. She started to back away,

**"Severus..No. Please, don't do this!"** She pleaded, her eyes filling with tears.

**"I'm sorry Al."** He said, pulling out his wand, and pointing it towards her. She took a step back towards him, as his hand shook. He didn't want to do it, she could see that.

**"Sev, please."** She pleaded again. She took another step. He looked up, and he pointed the wand at her and shouted,

_**"SECTUMSEMPRA!"**_ Loudly, a flash blinding Al, and she felt her dress rip, and blood start to spill out of the open wounds in her side. It felt like she'd been stabbed, and the pain didn't stop, it only intensified. She felt her eyes start to close with pain, and she laid her head down, and began to cry.

**"Why Sev?"** She asked, but he was long gone, running back into the Great Hall, looking ghastly pale. What had he done?

Ave was on the edge of consciousness when she heard a familiar voice crying out to another presence that had showed up, but at that point she could not discern between what she was hearing for the pounding in her ears was too loud. Bellatrix had stopped the Cruciatus curse, but Eavan was still experiencing the after effects of the curse and it felt like every organ in her body had split open from the excruciating pain. Her vision was too blurred by the blood streaking down from the head wound that Bellatrix had inflicted on her when she had grabbed Eavan by the throat and slammed her into the wall.

Al choked on her sobs, the pain from the wound in her sides felt like her skin was burning right off of her body and all her insides were going to fall out. She felt betrayal, Severus was supposed to be her friend, how could he have stabbed her in the back like that? All because Bellatrix Black ordered him to…

XOXO

Lily led James back to the table, both of their faces flushed from all the dancing and they immediately sought out their cups of punch, gulping it down greedily.

"**Hey, where are Al and Ave**?" The beautiful redhead tilted her head to the side curiously, noticing that the two other girls of the group weren't present.

"**The bathroom**." Sirius shrugged

"**Oh, getting frisky, eh?"** James purred across the table to Lily who had just sat down.

She eyed him skeptically,"**Er..What?"**

He arched an eyebrow and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose after they had attempted to fall off before lifted up the skirt of the table to see the strangest thing he had ever laid eyes on. Peter was on his hands and knees, purring like the cat that his Venetian mask resembled.

Peter was caught by surprise before he rested his chin in James' lap and batted his eyelashes,

"**Meow**."

"**Bloody hell, Wormtail!"** James growled.

Shock from Peter's presence shocked James to the point he stood too quickly and part of a drink spilled all over Lily across the table. She looked at herself, and she sighed.

**"Oh dear God, Lily, I did not mean to do that! Peter look what you made me do!"** He motioned for the eccentric under the table. Peter glanced around, and crawled back towards the corner, and away under another table. James rolled his eyes, and quickly made his way to Lily.

**"I'm so sorry! So so so sorry!"** He cried, kissing her hand. She smiled at him, and shook her head,

**"It's alright. I'll be right back."** She told the others. They nodded, and watched her walk off. As she moved towards the opening, she collided with a swift moving bony body.

**"I'm so sorry."** It was Severus, and he was crying. She didn't know what was his deal, but she shrugged it off, and moved into the hallway. She saw someone lying on the floor, and she figured someone had had too much to drink before the dance, until she noticed the figure was crying. She moved closer, and she could see it was Al.

**"Bloody Hell!" **She cried, rushing to her side. Al's sides were ripped open, and she was bleeding profusely. Lily panicked. Who would do something like this!? A voice from behind her in the dark made her skin crawl,

**"This is a bad place for you..." **She turned to see Lucius Malfoy making his way towards her. She shook her head and began to back up. She didn't stick around to listen to him speak, she took off at a run back towards the Great Hall, she knew she had to find help. Before she got there, Lucius caught up to her, and she heard him scream,

**"**_**Expelliarmus!"**_ She felt the blow hit her back, and she hit the door of the Great Hall. Someone opened the door, and screamed loudly as Lily's rather limp body fell on them as they opened the door.

James was the first one to the door to assess the situation, carefully picking Lily up and off of the Amos Diggory who had had the misfortune of being in the way of the door when she had fallen into the Great Hall. She was unconscious when he got to her and gently pulled her into his lap, checking to make sure that she was still breathing before screaming, **"Go get Madam Pomfrey!"**

Remus and Sirius were at his side in a matter of seconds before seeing a flash of bleach blonde through the opened door that could be none other than Lucius Malfoy. The two boys left James with Lily and shoved their bodies through the door and out into the hallway where they found the most horrific scene of their young lives. Al was crying her eyes out, completely in a daze from the horrendous loss of blood.

Sirius eyes frantically searched the corridor until he spotted Eavan's limp body lying unceremoniously up against a stone wall, blood pooling around her in steady streams from the massive amount of cuts and scrapes adorning her body. His eyes narrowed at his cousin Bellatrix who stood victoriously over his girlfriend's body, poking the blonde with her foot disinterestedly.

"**Don't touch her you filthy bitch!" **He growled, whipping out his wand and quickly casting a curse her way, to which she stealthily dodged and countered with one of her own, laughing maniacally the entire time.

He took a step back as she took one forward, all the while casting different curses at each other until he felt himself back up into another body. Startled and thinking that it was Lucius he cast a wary side-ways glance to see that it was Remus locked in a battle with Lucius, much like the one he himself was in with Bellatrix.

Remus had never been so angry in his entire life. He was seething, his hand shook with rage. He took aim at Lucius, time and time again. Their duel was short lived, however, by a loud shout from a disgruntled Headmaster.

**"Silence!"** He boomed, the spells stopped, and he moved between the boys,

**"Mr. Lupin, take her to the Hospital Wing. Miss Evans is on her way there." **He looked then to Lucius, his eyes narrowing.

**"You, will go to my office, now. No excuses, Mr. Malfoy."** Lucius started to snap back, but he said nothing after seeing the fearsome fire behind the older man's eyes. He lowered his wand. Remus rushed to Al's side, and he picked her up, gently. She moaned, and her eyes opened, they were bloodshot and watery.

**"Why did Severus do this Rem?"** Her voice cracked, and before they could leave, Dumbledore turned to her,

**"Severus Snape did this to you?"** He inquired. She nodded, and buried her head into Remus's gradually blood soaked suit jacket. Dumbledore dismissed them, and Remus moved off swiftly. Dumbledore moved next down the hallway, and he was nearly hit with a curse from Bellatrix. He stood tall after the near miss, and he looked at them both.

**"Get her out of here, Mr. Black."** He said sternly. Sirius didn't think twice, collected Ave's broken form, and moved off. Bellatrix smiled giddily at the limp girl, and clapped her hands. Dumbledore grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her towards his office. He could smell expulsion for several students if he had his way.

XOXO

That night was the worst in the memory of any of the Marauders. They weren't permitted to stay with the females by Madame Pomfrey. They went back to their dorm, changed, and sat. None of them said anything. They stared at the ceiling, sleeping very little. At the first light of the morning, they all skipped breakfast and headed right for the Hospital Wing. They were greeted by a relieved looking Nurse.

**"The good news is, they are all awake. The bad news is, only one of them is fit to leave at this point."** She allowed the boys in, and each immediately went to the bedside of their girlfriend. Al was pale, and her hair was splayed out on her pillow. Her eyes were closed, and she was paler then Remus had ever seen. He guessed it was from blood loss. He touched her face gently, and she stirred slightly. She turned her head towards him, and smiled weakly,

**"Morning Rem."** Her voice was as weak as her appearance. He felt his eyes well up, and he clenched his jaw.

**"Morning Love."** He said, lowering his mouth to kiss her cheek.

Sirius rushed to Eavan's side the instant the doors to the Infirmary opened, his eyes welling up at the sight of her laying there in the hospital bed as images from the night before flashed in his head. She was cleaned up of all the blood, but he could still see her the way that she had been the night before, that image would forever be scarred in his mind. He gently took her delicate hand in his and began to stroke the back of her palm with his thumb, wanting her to just open her eyes, but she didn't.

"**Madam Pomfrey, is she going to be okay…?"** He was almost afraid to ask.

The young nurse smiled reassuringly, "**She should be fine, Miss Tringham had a minor concussion and lost a fair amount of blood last night and just needs her rest to recuperate."**

Lily was sitting up in her bed with her back against the headboard, giving James a sad smile, "**I'm sorry I couldn't get to you guys in time…I..I…"**

The messy haired hazel-eyed boy put a finger to her lips to quiet her before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her affectionately,** "God I was so scared, Lily! I don't…I don't know what I would do if I had lost you…"**

Sirius bit his lip, Al and Lily were both awake and talking but Eavan was still unresponsive, he just wanted to see those beautiful emerald eyes of her's and to hear the melodic sound of her voice. James walked around Lily's bed and came to stand next to her, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"**You heard Madam Pomfrey, she'll be fine, mate."**

"**Yeah**…" Sirius frowned. Carefully, the silver eyed boy slipped off his shoes and gently climbed into bed with her, being very careful not to disturb her as he snuggled in beside her, wrapping his arms around her slumbering form.

As the couples sat alone, the door to the infirmary opened. In stepped a rather nervous looking third year. She looked towards Al and Remus, and made her ways towards the bed. She looked at the others, and she straightened her Hufflepuff robe. She swallowed as she saw the larger blond boy so close to Al, and she looked at her hands. She didn't want to speak, but she knew she had to.

**"A..Al?"** She squeaked. Al looked up, and what little color she did have drained from her face.

**"Erin."** She said, her voice cracking. She closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose. She swallowed, and she opened her eyes slowly, struggling to sit up, then realizing by the splitting pain in her side that was a bad idea.

**"I suppose if you are here, the family sent for you to tell me they're comi**n**g." **She said this with no hint of question. The girl nodded,

**"I wasn't even supposed to tell you, but I thought I should....I'll go now, I hope you feel better."** She glanced once at the others, and she made her leave. Remus looked at Al curiously,

**"Seems like an awful strange to have to warn you that your family is coming."** He said, perplexed. She smiled weakly,

**"Family hates me because I'm not Hufflepuff or Slytherin. I'm sure they will tell me that Slytherins didn't do this, that it was just in my head, and I need to get over myself."** She said, closing her eyes again. She felt tears behind them, but she urged them away. She opened her eyes as someone spoke from across the way,

**"Sounds like our families should get together for tea."** Sirius said bluntly. He knew what it felt like to be a family outcast. As he spoke, he felt movement beside him, and before he could look, he heard a small voice speak,

**"That better be a wand in your pocket, Sirius Black."** Ave said, slowly opening her eyes with a small grin. Before another word could be said, the Hospital door opened, and in stepped noneotherthan Severus Snape, holding his head lowly, but looking at the group from behind his curtain of greasy black tresses, and he didn't look at all well.

"**Love, you of all people should know that I keep my wand in the pocket of my robes**." Sirius' face exploded into a medley of emotions, the predominate of those being happiness. Eavan was okay, she was even joking around like her regular self and that's what tipped him off that she was going to be just fine. He buried his face into her hair, taking in her natural scent of vanilla and lilacs, he loved the way she smelled, hell, he loved everything about her.

Remus stepped in front of Al's bed protectively, irate at Snape as he apprehensively took another step closer to the group before stopping several feet away. James had also jumped up, his wand at the ready, the boys were just itching to hex the shit out of the greasy haired Slytherin for what he had done to Al the night before.

"**Get out, you're not welcomed here **_**Snivellus**_**." **Sirius barked, a dangerous glint in his silver eyes as he reached for his wand in the pocket of his robes that had been discarded in the chair beside the bed while at the same time trying to protectively tighten his grip around Eavan.

As everyone tensed, Al did as well. She didn't know why Severus was here, but she didn't care. She wasn't angry with him, and she couldn't fathom why. She struggled to sit up, and she tried to see past Remus, and she could see James getting defense, and she heard Sirius speak up too. She wanted to cry, she knew they did it for their own reasons, but it was also on her behalf, and she'd never had people do that for her. She forced back her tears, and she spoke hoarsely,

**"What is it, Severus?"** She blinked at him, and all eyes focused on her. Remus moved to her side as he saw her struggling, he sat on her bed, and she leaned against him. Lily looked at her, shocked,

**"You would really talk to him after he almost killed you?"** Al nodded, and looked at Severus again,

**"What is it?"** She didn't looking forgiving at all, but she wasn't mad at him, per say, just the fact that it had happened at all was still a shock to her. He opened his mouth to speak, and he tried to look up, but he couldn't, so he just spoke,

**"I'm sorry..."** He muttered, Remus narrowed his eyes, and he shot back hoarsely,

**"I'm sure you are. I think you should go, or I'll make you leave."** Severus looked up and he seemed to test Remus with his eyes. He started to smirk, until the tallest Marauder stood and began to stalk towards him. Remus clenched his jaw, and moved until he felt a weak hand grasp what she could reach,

**"Remus! Please.."** Al pleaded. She didn't want any more fighting. Remus sighed, and moved back towards her bed. Severus smirked, and started to back up, and backed right into James. He looked to see him looming over him, and he looked at Al for help,

**"I don't control him."** She said with a smirk, she leaned into Remus's neck lightly, and she nibbled a sensitive spot getting a shudder out of him, she was trying to force him to calm down. Before James could beat Snivelly, the time for class rolled around, and the males all had to leave.

XOXO

After classes that day, Lily was seen as fit to go back to her dorm. Al and Ave on the other hand, had to stay for longer due to more sever injuries. As they sat, bored of sitting, but enjoying the company regardless, Sirius moved into the room. He noticed Ave had moved beds, and was now lying in the bed next to Al. They were whispering and giggling, and it made him slightly nervous.

**"Afternoon, ladies."** He said with a grin. Their Cheshire smiles back at him made him shiver,

**"Wanna help us feel better, Siri?"** Ave cooed. As she explained what they wanted, Al merely grinned, giggled, and grew more and more excited as he agreed to do it.

**"Anything to help you two feel better."** He said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, sighing. As Remus entered the room, Sirius stood, and he stalked towards him. Remus smiled at him, switching his Potion's book to the other hand,

**"Ello Mate."** He said, Sirius smiled wickedly and he took a step closer, grabbing the book from Remus, and taking his other hand, and pulling Remus's face to him, but not before whispering,

**"This is for the girls."**

Remus didn't even have time to give Sirius a puzzled look before he was shoved up against the wall of the Infirmary and felt the mouth of his best mate crash against his own. The werewolf wasn't as bold and out there as the silver-eyed Marauder was and public displays of affection just made him feel squirmish, and that was when he was with Al, which he wasn't right now. He was kissing Sirius bloody Black. It was for the girls, he had promised, but that did nothing to make him feel any less uneasy about snogging one of his best mates in the middle of the Hospital Wing while the girls watched with excited fascination.

Sirius, always taking things one step further, ran his hands up Remus' sides while their tongues battled for dominance.

Al bit her lip before whispering to her friend in the bed next to her,

"**You know, this is really hot but…I'm beginning to feel a little jealous…" **Eavan nodded in agreement,

"**They're really going all out for this, if I wasn't so sure about Sirius' sexuality I think I'd be beginning to question it."**

The boys were so into their make out session for the girls that when the sound of quickly approaching footsteps reached their ears they thought it was the girls coming to get a closer look.

"…**What the hell?!"** James backed up into one of the bedside tables, knocking over all the medication and tonics that had been arranged neatly on top for the girls to drink.

The boys locked in the embrace of the one another didn't even notice as James knocked over the table. Sirius had his hands up Remus's shirt at this point, and they were grinding against each other. Remus moaned, and he thrusted his hips into Sirius, who in return moaned even louder. James looked at them from the floor, and he had never felt so confused in his entire life.

**"Way to almost spoil their fun, and our fun James."** Al said with a giggle, glancing at Remus, who was so lost in the feeling of Sirius's lips, that his head was tilted to the side in a silent scream, and his hair splayed wantonly over his forehead as Sirius started to move down his neck. As Al watched, she felt herself get mildly jealous, but also slightly excited because Remus had a spot on his neck that made him rather aggressive if you messed with it too long, and Sirius was about to hit that spot.

**"My apologies?"** James said, confused and he slowly picked up the tonic bottles off the floor. He tried to look away towards the females, but he couldn't ignore the noises the two were making. He glanced back in time to see Remus change their positions, and slam Sirius into the wall, and Sirius reach around, and grasp Remus's ass firmly. Remus mumbled something about it tickling, and Ave looked at Al,

**"I didn't know his butt was ticklish!"** Al giggled lightly, and nodded,

**"He's ticklish a lot of places."** Ave giggled too,

**"I bet he is!"** By this time, James couldn't watch anymore, and looked back at the girls,

**"Does this not bother you?"** He asked,

**"Only a little, but we told them to do it!"** Ave said happily. The males against the wall thrusted into each other desperately again, and it appeared to the group that both were in dire need of some form of sexual release and soon, before they went at it with each other against that very wall.

While the three were thinking that the boys needed to be stopped before they went too far, none of them were brave enough to come out and tell them to quit. James kept his eyes averted to the floor, refusing to even glance in the direction of Remus and Sirius, he wasn't impressed by their actions at the moment and felt a little nauseous that they would even consider snogging each other just because their girls asked them to. The messy haired teen thought about it for a minute and realized that if Lily had asked him to do the same thing, he'd more than likely do it too.

Eavan, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable with the way things were heading with the two boys, cleared her throat only to have it fall upon deaf ears. Growing annoyed and possessive over Sirius who was now being felt up by Remus she hopped out of bed, steadying herself before marching over to the two boys and squeezing herself in-between them.

"**Sirius…stop…please…" **

Sirius blinked a few times before glancing around the room in confusion,

"**Whoa, mate, I swear to God I wasn't thinking about you..."** Remus blushed and pulled away, taking about 10 paces backwards before hiding his face in shame.

Remus blinked, and he saw Al grinning slightly, and he wanted to faint. He swallowed, and he looked down at himself, he was a mess! He cleared his throat, and he looked away,

**"Yeah..Sorry about that Ave."** She shrugged, it had been partly her idea, and he had just done as told. Remus moved back towards Al, and he sank to the bed, and he looked at her, she was amused, and his embarrassment grew. He looked at his hands, and she giggled, laying her head on his shoulder.

**"If I had known you wanted to snog that badly, I would have gladly done so at any time."** She cooed in his ear, getting a shiver from him. They looked over as they heard a moan. Sirius had resumed what he'd been doing before, just this time with Ave, and he was being more gentle. They all heard a jingle of a belt buckle, and all realized by the moaned screams choked out of Sirius that he was being pleasured right in front of them. They all didn't know what to say, they were so embarrassed. They didn't' want to interrupt them, but they didn't want to be subjected to _that_ either!

**"Ay! You two are worse then rabbits! Take it easy!"** Al said flatly, as Remus climbed into her bed, hiding his red face in her neck. She grinned, and she slid her hand up his leg, making him jump. James looked back at her, and spoke in return,

**"Look whose talking."** He said sarcastically. She giggled, and Remus still couldn't bring himself to look at James, Sirius or Ave.

Eavan removed herself momentarily from Sirius to bring herself back up into a standing position, her eyes still half-lidded as she slowly pushed him back towards her hospital bed. The silver-eyed boy made no objection as he was thrust forcefully onto her bed and straddled around the waist by her tiny body. The two cared not that their friends were still in the room, they both shared a common trait; they were exhibitionists and enjoyed being the center of attention wherever they were.

James covered up his uneasiness by laughing,

"**Haha, mate, you do realize that we're all still here, yeah?"** Sirius grunted in reply as a soft moan escaped his lips, Eavan knew exactly where his special spots were and she wasted no time in messing around with them. Remus' face turned the brightest shade of red that Al had ever seen, she thought it was cute that he was embarrassed for his friend, but wished that he wasn't so shy and would take a page out of Sirius' book for once.

The soft moans of pleasure gradually got louder and James was relieved a bit by the sound of the curtains being drawn around the bed, although they could all still hear what was going on they couldn't see it at least.

"**So uh…weather's nice, yeah?"** James chuckled awkwardly, trying to start a conversation in light of things.

Al glanced outside and arched an eyebrow,

"**James…it's snowing."** Eavan jumped off of Sirius and flew off the bed and towards the window,

"**It's snowing?! I love the snow! Let's go play!"** Sirius groaned,

"**Merlin, Ave, way to kill the mood."** Remus laughed,

"**Besides, you two have to stay in here for the next few days so Madam Pomfrey can keep an eye on your injuries."** The blonde haired Gryffindor groaned loudly,

"**But I wanna go play in it while it's still fresh! If we wait a few days then it's going to be tainted and all slushy and gross. I say, what Madam Pomfrey doesn't know won't hurt her, let's go go go!"** Al nodded, looking outside. She had always loved snow. Remus didn't seem to like the idea. As Ave bounced around the room, Al struggled to sit up. She moaned unintentionally, and Remus moved to sit up, and he braced her around her waist. She shivered, and she clutched her sides.

**"I don't know if I can do that.."** She said, with her head down, and her eyes filling with tears. As the others stood, she shook in pain lightly. Remus rubbed her shoulders lightly, and she tried to relax.

**"You guys go on ahead, she'll be better off in here."** Al nodded, and she leaned into Remus. She closed her eyes, and she could feel her wounds scratching against her cloths. She lay back down, and watched the others go. She looked up at Remus, her eyes full of questions and tears.

**"Why'd he do this to me, Rem?"** She trembled, and he wrapped his long arms around her tiny frame. He kissed her head, and quieted her,

**"I can't honestly say, Love. But, I promise, I'll never let anything hurt you ever again."** He cradled her and she nodded, sniffling into his chest. She looked towards the door, and she hoped the others would have fun outside.

XOXO

Eavan pulled Sirius by his arm out the door before he could protest, ignoring the small throb in the back of her head until it gradually began to intensify. The blonde got all the way to the doors leading outside when Sirius pulled her close to him.

"**Love, if you're going to be going outside then you should put this on at least**." Sirius shrugged off his heavy school robe and draped it around her,

"**We can only stay out there for a minute, and I don't want you getting sick."**

James rushed out the door and began to gather up snow in his hands, before tossing it at the back of Sirius' head and going to make another snowball. The silver-eyed boy paused and turned around with a devious smirk tugging at the corners of his lips before he jumped into the snow and began a war of snow with his best mate. Eavan giggled, hopping down the steps and falling into the snow to make herself a snow angel.

It was around that time that the pain in her head began to catch up with her, she could ignore the soreness of the rest of her body, but the severe pain radiating from her head wasn't easily forgotten. Not wanting to alarm the boys, she bit her lip to keep herself from crying out in alarm, tears welled up in her eyes as she sat up and clutched tightly at the sides of her head as if to will the pain away.

"**Goddamnit**…" She hissed between clenched teeth.

Amidst the flying snowballs, Sirius managed a glanced over his shoulder, and he turned and moved towards Ave quickly. He knelt beside her, as a snowball nailed the back of his head as James threw it. He winced, and he looked at her,

**"Something wrong love?"** He asked, concern etched into his face. She shook her head, hoping not to worry him.

**"No, it's nothing."** She said, as her head throbbed more. She curled up further, and that was when he knew something was wrong. He put an arm under her small legs, and lifted her from the ground. She squealed lightly in surprise, and he moved back towards the inside of Hogwarts. James jogged in behind them, and he caught in step with them,

**"What's the matter?"** He asked, looking between the two.

**"My head.."** She mumbled, trying to calm herself down. She didn't want to cry, but a tear or two did escape, but they were unnoticed. As they snuck back into the Infirmary, they found Al sleeping on Remus, and him starting to doze. Sirius got Ave back to bed, and James took his leave. Sirius crawled in behind Ave, and soon she was resting beside him, hovering somewhere between consciousness and slumber. Sirius looked over at Rem as he spoke,

**"She asked me why they did it..."** Sirius's face faltered lightly,

**"What'd you tell her?"** He asked. Remus sighed,

**"I said I didn't know, but I'd never let anyone touch her again...Why did this happen?" **He asked, Sirius looked down, and he shrugged, but he soon spoke.

"**Those slimy gits."** He growled, his eyes lighting up in fury, **"They did it to get back at us, I just know they did!"**

Remus narrowed his eyes, it all made sense! After years of pranking and picking on the Slytherins they decided to return the favor, and what better way than to get back at the Marauders than to mess with their girls? The werewolf seethed, his vision becoming blurry with rage, how could anyone voluntarily harm someone as innocent as Al? Or really, any of the girls.

"**We can't let them get away with this, Moony."** Sirius whispered.

"**I know, but if we keep this up…then they'll just keeping hurting the girls to get back at us, so that means…"**

Sirius understood where Remus was going with his line of thought and he nodded,"**—We have to end it."**

Shortly after Madam Pomfrey shooed the boys out of the Hospital Wing so that she could give Al and Eavan their elixirs and get them to bed for the night. Sirius and Remus headed back to the dormitory intent on informing James the reasoning behind the sudden attack on the girls…and so they could get their revenge.


	7. Chapter 7

Before plans could be completed for revenge, those involved in the incident; aside from Bellatrix Black who had been formally expelled, had the joyful opportunity to go through evaluations of a mental nature. So, a therapist who worked for the Ministry was brought in. As the group, Remus, Al, Ave, Sirius, Lily, James, Severus, Peter, and Lucius; sat before the man, he smiled at them all. He had a large pair of glasses that sat on the bridge of his long nose. His thin cheeks were covered with small amounts of facial hair, and he smiled at them through thin lips.

**"My name is Jonathan Foster, and I suppose none of you really want to be here, but I shall get to the point. I have been brought here to figure out if any of you, or all of you, or any number in between those are fit to stay here!"** His demeanor bothered the girls, but the males simply sat, stoic and none moving.

**"So, with that being said, I shall give you 30 minutes to write a poem about the person whose name I hand you. Do not share with anyone who you are writing about, and good luck!"** He stated, and he handed out some pieces of paper. The group groaned, and stood moving out of the room. As they dispersed, the Marauders and their girls leaned on a hallway wall, and Al scribbled something down lightly on paper. A few seconds later, she placed her quell back in her pocket.

**"Well, that was easy."** She said. The rest were stunned. They all resumed writing, and soon the half hour was up, and they were forced to return to the room. Mr. Foster smiled at them, and he asked for volunteers. Al rolled her eyes and stood,

**"Alright. I want to get this over with. So, mine is called ****I'm Sirius Black, Bitch."** She grinned as the others behind her giggled, and Mr. Foster shot them looks, she then continued.

**"I like you,  
You like me,  
Be in my bed,  
No later then 3."**

She finished, and the group behind her's had dissolved into a fit of giggles. Al sat and Ave looked at her through tear stained eyes,

**"Very accurate, Al."** Al shrugged, and smirked,

**"I tried."**

**"And succeeded."** Added Sirius, grinning proudly that someone had figured him out, at least how he portrayed himself on the outside."

The therapist sent a rather provocative stare towards the girls who all shuddered violently, but the interaction went unnoticed by the boys. He then proceeded to wink at the greasy haired Slytherin,

"**Your turn, Mister Snape."**

As Severus Snape stood up from his seat and walked towards the center of the room, the Marauders sniggered at him, he was completely oblivious to the fact that on the back of his cloak the pesky Gryffindor boys had charmed the symbol for male homosexuality. No one said anything, however, and continued to giggled.

"**I titled my poem, 'To Love a Lily.'**" He smirked over his shoulder at James who had cried out angrily.

"**We've been best friends for what seems like an eternity  
My feelings for you began to change gradually  
until I was a smoldering core of liquid love, perpetually burning for you.  
The fire burning at my insides matches the bright flames of your hair  
Smelling of cinnamon and Lily."**

Eavan and Sirius burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter, falling out of their chairs and onto the floor in the process. James seethed with anger, shooting the Slytherin the most nasty glare he could muster. Al and Remus seemed a little disturbed by the poem, but it hadn't bother them as much because they knew of the crush Snape had had on Lily. And Lastly, Lily was mortified, hiding her burning face in her hands in an attempt to disappear.

"**Beautiful poem, Mister Snape! I applaud thee!"** Foster clapped his hands loudly,

"**Now, now, who shall be next hmm?" **As the group quieted a bit. Severus took his seat, and Mr. Foster glanced at the floor, and he smiled wickedly. As Sirius and Ave got back in there seats, he glanced at his clip board, and he picked a name. He looked back up, and he spoke, smiling still.

**"Well, Mr. Black, why not you next?"** He said. Sirius froze.

**"Uh, well, I would but I'd rather not."** He said, shuffling his feet lightly. No one had really ever seen Sirius get awkward. Mr. Foster looked at him flatly, and he spoke again,

**"You'll have to go eventually, why not get it over with early?"** He strongly suggested. Sirius sighed, and slowly climbed to his feet with a grumble. He moved towards the center, and he swallowed.

**"I didn't give this a title..."** He said, looking down at his feet for a second. He looked back up, and he began to read, facing his friends,

**"I know we don't always gets along,**  
**or have much in common, **  
**But when I need a friend, **  
**You're always there without question.**  
**I know about your problems, **  
**and I don't care, **  
**as long as you need me, **  
**Dear Remus,**  
**I'm always there."****  
**

He finished, and he folded the paper back up. Mr. Foster clapped,

**"That was stunning Mr. Black!"** He said, Sirius grumbled thanks and moved back towards his seat. He looked at Remus as he sat, and Remus held a small smile, but it wasn't of jeering, it was one of appreciation, and Sirius smiled back, with an unspoken nod of acceptance.

As Sirius sat back down Eavan loosely wrapped her arm around his shoulder, kissing his cheek gently,

"**That was really good, Siri!"**

Foster glanced over the group to pick who would go next, his eyes landing on each female and lingering a few moments on their chest before he would move on to the next student. His gaze landed on Eavan and a wide crooked smile spread across his thin lips,

"**Ah, Miss Tringham, fancy having a go at it?'**

She recognized the double entendre he was sending her and narrowed her eyes a fraction,

"**Not in particular, no."**

"**Oh come on, Miss Tringham, like I told Mister Black; the sooner you come up the sooner it's done and over with."** His tone sent shivers down her spine as she slowly stood up and walked towards the middle of the room, not liking how his eyes danced with excitement as she got nearer and nearer to him.

"**I titled mine 'The Creeper'**." She spoke softly but gradually her voice turned louder and much more bold.

"**When I see you coming my way,  
I see no incentive to sit and stay.  
Your beady little eyes haunt me,  
And I wish that the others could see.  
The way you stare and occasionally touch,  
Makes me want to hex you so much!  
I'm sorry, Peter,  
You are the definition of Creeper."**

The therapist frowned,

"**Now Miss Tringham, I gave you lot this assignment in hopes that you could creatively display affections towards others that you might not normally interact with. You, however, completely disregarded the fact and created something in the negative, I'm not sure if I should allow this, I'd like for you to see me after this session."**

She frowned, clearly not wanting to meet with the older man who had been eyeing her and her girl friends throughout the whole session. Once she sat down Sirius sniggered beside her, earning a glare and a slap on the shoulder from Eavan.

"**Screw you**."

Everyone smirked as Ave told him the strange man off. No one really wanted to be here, but before anyone could speak in her defense, he straightened his face, and he moved towards the center, and he looked around the circle again,

**"How about you next?"** He pointed at Remus, who looked at his feet. His poem wasn't much nicer, and he most certainly didn't want to have to see him after this session either. He sighed, and he stood.

**"Uh..well, I didn't title mine either,**

**I don't much care for you,  
But I'd say there's nothing I can do.  
I wouldn't hurt someone so pathetic,  
What good would that do me?  
But I swear to you,  
Come near her again,  
And, Blonde Miscreant,  
It will be your last sin."**

Hedidn't look at anyone, merely returned to his seat. Sirius grinned, speaking sarcastically,

**"Strange rhythm scheme towards the end." **Remus shrugged, smirking.

**"Thank you..." **Foster said, moving on. Remus expected to be punished like Ave, but Foster didn't mention it, do why should he bother?

**"Whose next?"** Foster urged.

"**Ah, how about Mister Malfoy, yes?"** Foster smiled as the platinum blonde gracefully strode up to the center of the room,

"**Oh by the way Mister Malfoy, your hair is simply exquisite, you condition, yes?"**

"**I don't see how that has any relevance to this session…"** Lucius arched a well manicured eyebrow before sighing,

"**Yes**."

The Marauders and their girls all snickered at the confession before sitting back to listen to the annoying Slytherin's poem. Lucius shot the Marauders and their girls a menacing glare before briefly settling his gaze on to James who smirked, recognizing that he must be who the Slytherin had to write about.

"**You are an insufferable git  
Your threats mean nothing to me  
Your hair is messy and looks like shit  
I am exquisite and everything you cannot be.  
You have a poor choice of friends  
And a childish sense of humor  
I hope to assist in your untimely end."**

He shot James an arrogant smirk and sat back down in his seat, crossing one of his legs over the other and folding his arms across his chest.

"**Interesting rhyme scheme Mister Malfoy!"** Foster smiled appreciatively.

"…**I think he just threatened me poetically**!" James laughed.

"**He threatens James and you comment on the rhyme scheme, while I simply call Peter a creeper and I get punished in to seeing you after class? What the fuck kind of justice is this**?" Eavan growled.

"**Oh Miss Tringham, please refrain from using such language in my presence."**

Al nodded back towards Ave's grumbling, she had a point. It wasn't fair. She put her hands behind her head, and she looked over towards Ave,

**"Maybe he was a Slytherin and is being partial."** She suggested. She then looked at he shot some words her way,

**"We shall see whose partial after class, hmm Miss Landor? You shall be joining her."** He said, looking at her with harsh eyes that made her skin crawl. She raised an eyebrow, and she rolled her eyes,

**"Looking forward to it."** She said sarcastically. All eyes then turned towards someone as they heard a chair pushed back. Peter jumped to his feet, his hands shaking.

**"Can I help you, Mr. Uh.. you aren't on my list, who are you?"** Foster questioned. Peter smiled creepily,

**"My name is Peter Pettigrew!"** He bellowed. Everyone looked at each other, and Foster didn't know what to say.

**"Well, Mr. Pettigrew, do you have a poem you'd like to share?"** He asked. Peter nodded, and Foster nodded for him to go ahead. He walked over towards Severus, who shifted awkwardly as Peter knelt before him,

**"This is called, **_**Because I Love You.**_

"**I watch you go about your daily ritual, **  
**Secretly stalking you has become somewhat habitual. **  
**The grease that frames your face makes the heavens, **  
**Time and spaces stand still.**  
**For me, it's such a thrill.**  
**Your crooked nose always seems to point at me,**  
**At the sight of it my heart flutters with such glee!**  
**You skulk about with the grace of Sasquatch;  
I secretly have the desire to make your hair into a wristwatch. **  
**Sometimes, when you are asleep,**  
**I take a lock of your hair to keep.**  
**And why may you ask,**  
**Am I such a freak?**  
**Because, darling Severus, **  
**It's your love I seek."**

He stopped, and the room was so silent one could have heard a pin drop, but that didn't last long before Sirius nearly fell from his chair, cackling. He was swiftly followed by the rest of the Marauders, their girlfriends, and shockingly, even Lucius Malfoy. Foster tried to regain control, but that seemed a trivial affair for the time being.

After trying , and failing, at controlling the students Dr. Foster decided to just give up, "**Very well then, I suppose we'll have to continue this in our next session. Class dismissed**."

Eavan groaned, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back in her chair as everyone quickly made for the door, intent on getting far away from Dr. Foster as they possibly could. Sirius was halfway across the room when he turned around and bit his lip,"**Want me to wait for you outside, Ave?**"

She blew upwards at her bangs before sighing,"**Naw, this shouldn't take too long anyhow, I'll be back to Gryffindor Tower soon."**

He paused, hesitant, before turning back around and continuing after Remus and James.

"**Miss Evans and Miss Landor, please stay behind with Miss Tringham, I'd like to have a word with the three of you."** Dr. Foster smiled, motioning for them to come back and take their seats.

Lily and Al exchanged confused glances, wondering what he could possibly want to speak with them about as they hadn't done anything wrong, unlike Ave and her obscene poem. Or maybe he wanted to use them as examples for Ave to go by…yeah, that had to be it, right?

As the three girls took their seats no one seemed to notice the door slowly close behind them, locked by a spell, or that the drapes fell over the windows and the room dimmed substantially. What the three girls _did_ notice, however, was the wicked smirk winding its way onto the creepy psychiatrist's twisted face.

"**Er…Dr. Foster…you wanted to…speak with…us, yeah..?"** Eavan started slowly, eyeing the advancing man with wary apprehension.

Al squeaked as he withdrew his wand from his robes, he had an unfair advantage over the three witches. Before the lesson had started he had demanded that all of the students leave their wands in their respected dormitories. In other words, the girls were screwed.

Al wasn't sure what to make of the situation. She looked to the others for answers, but they seemed to lack them as much as she did. Foster began to advance on them, they did their best of move away, but merely shut each other more and more into a corner. They winced, and he grabbed towards them, grabbing Lily by the jacket, pulling her towards him.

"**You are quiet the charmer, aren't you Miss Evans?"** She winced, and trembled lightly.

"**What do you want with us?"** Al asked, Ave nodding behind her. Lily struggled lightly, and Foster merely laughed. He waved his wand, muttered something that sounded like the word "Zwah" and then the girl's were down to nothing but their undergarments. Al struggled to cover herself as he pushed Lily back towards them. They all huddled together as he advanced again. He reached out and touched Ave's side, trailing up to her breast; but then, as suddenly as he had attacked, he was gone…. and so were their cloths. The room began to smell oddly of peas, and the girls felt it was time to take their leave. As they moved towards Gryffindor Tower, they sprinted and ran straight through the Common Room, passing the boy's questioning looks.

"**What the bloody hell was that about?" **James seemed to blurt out exactly what the rest of the Marauders had been thinking as the girls streaked past them and darted for the safety of their own dormitory.

"**I...I'm not sure**." Remus blushed at the fact that he had just seen 3 of his female friends practically naked.

XOXO

The three girls took turns taking showers, trying to rid themselves of the dirty touch of Dr. Foster's. It made them feel gross and violated.  
Once Al had gotten out of the bathroom, towel in hand and drying her hair, Eavan ducked inside and immediately the shower was heard turning on. Lily hugged herself, having opted to dry her hair with a simple spell, and was now sitting on her four poster bed.

"**Did that...really happen? He almost...he could've....**" Al choked, mirroring Lily's actions by hugging herself tightly.

"**I know, thank God that he disappeared before he could've...could've..."** The flaming red-haired beauty couldn't bring herself to say what was going through her head, the thought of what _could_ have happened was just too terrifying.  
Ave came out a few moments later, running a hand through her wavy blonde and black streaked hair,

"**I agree, it could've been a lot worse...however I do believe we should have a little talk with Professor Dumbledore, he needs to know what Foster tried to do to us..."**

**Al nodded, pulling her arms closer to herself. She didn't know what to do. She rested her head on her legs. She didn't want ot talk to anyone but Remus at this moment.**

**"What do we tell the boys?"**** She said, finally. Lily looked towards her, and she looked back towards Ave.**

**"I hadn't thought about that….What do we tell them?"**** Ave shrugged. They agreed to talk to the Headmaster after dinner, but as they started to move towards the Common Room, Al held back a bit. They tried to coax her out into the Common Room, and she refused. Remus looked into the hallway, up the stairs,**

**"What's wrong?"**** She leaned against the wall,**

**"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up."**** She said, Ave and Lily nodded, pulling the other boys away, leaving Al and Remus alone. Al finally stepped out the shadows and she spoke,**

**"When you all left, Foster tried to make a move on us."**** She said, her eyes downcast to the floor. Remus's eyes flared a shade of something Al had never seen.**

**"What?!" ****He said, taking a step closer, touching her upper arms. She winced, he looked down at her,**

**"What happened?"**** He asked, quieter then his last statement. She spoke,**

**"He made our clothes disappear…and he groped Ave, and Lily a bit. I was sort of in the back so he didn't get his hands on me much…but he just disappeared…We're going to talk to Professor Dumbledore after dinner, but I'm not hungry and don't want to leave the dorm. I keep thinking, what if he hadn't disappeared?!"**** She said, her voice cracking. Remus stepped forward, pulling her towards him, and he shushed her.**

**"It's alright Love, I won't let anything happen to you."**** She sniffled, and shook in his arms. Before they could say another word, James, Lily, Sirius and Ave came back,**

**"We thought you guys…Oh…what happened?"**** James asked, looking at the other girls as they started to look around shiftily. Lily spoke after a second,**

**"We had a little bit of a nasty run in with Foster…"**

James swiftly turned his attention to Lily who was biting her trembling lip, the memory still fresh in her mind. He wrapped his arms around her waist protectively while stroking her hair lovingly, assuring her that he'd never leave her alone ever again. She was his beautiful Lily-flower and he'd rather die than see her hurt.

Eavan frowned, watching her two friends break in front of the boys; she wanted to show them that she was strong but it was hard to keep the burning emotions welling inside of her in control. She wanted nothing more than to just go back in to the dormitory and cry herself to sleep. Today definitely hadn't gone the way she had wanted it to, she was going to have a hard time trusting older men for a long, long time.  
Sirius' silver eyes darkened dangerously as he exchanged similar looks with the two other Marauders. Silently they vowed to catch that son of a bitch who dared to touch their girls. His eyes softened as he stared down at the blonde haired Gryffindor, pulling her close to him and kissing her forehead tenderly,

"**Don't worry Ave, you can let it out. I promise to keep you safe**." Eavan nodded numbly, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck before letting the convulsions of her sobbing rack her body. Sirius felt his stomach clench, somehow...he felt like this was all his fault. He should've waited for her outside the door, he could have easily come to their rescue had he just stayed put for a few minutes after their session with that bastard.


End file.
